Taylor Swift fans have taken over Liverpool as the US superstar arrives on the latest leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour – with speculation swirling that Florence Welch, Lana Del Rey or Sir Paul McCartney could turn up on stage with her.
The American singer will kick-off her three-day stint at Liverpool FC’s Anfield Stadium tomorrow evening with 53,000 fans forming the crowd.
Excitement was building in the city today with her devoted loyalists – known as Swifties – racing around Merseyside collecting last-minute merchandise and glitter to complete their themed outfits.
Speculation is mounting that huge stars could be accompanying Swift on what will her hundredth show of the Eras tour, with fans suggesting Liverpudlian legend Sir Paul, Florence and the Machine frontwoman Welch or Swift’s fellow American Del Rey could be surprise guests.
Swifties of all ages have travelled from far and wide to attend the sold-out show, with groups of women flocking in from the United States, Canada and across Europe.
Cardboard cut-outs of US superstar Taylor Swift have been put on display in Liverpool stores
Among those arriving in the city for the latesr Eras Tour gigs are (pictured left to right) Nicole Brinley, Paula Butt, Alainna Hertel, Kathleen Boland and Danielle Desimone
Heather Cowan packed bags full of Taylor Swift merchandise while preparing for the shows
Maddie Hulton, Kaylee Williams and Alyssa Winstanley joined the ‘Taylor Trail’ in Liverpool
Groups of concert-goers were seen posing for selfies on the city’s Taylor Town Trail – a group of eleven art installations dotted all over the city, with each piece representing a different album, or ‘era’.
Kaylee Williams, 18, from Manchester, told MailOnline: ‘This is our version of football.
‘You see all the lads getting together, getting excited for the game, asking who’s going to win – this our version of football.’
Her friend, 18-year-old A Level student Maddie Hulton, who has a ticket for Saturday, said: ‘I am looking forward to everything – the glitter, the friendship bracelets, the whole thing. It’s true girlhood.
‘Everyone is coming together and everyone is so lovely and friendly. Everyone’s trading bracelets in the queues. I am going on my own but I don’t feel like I will be alone because everyone is so nice.’
Super fan Chloe Milner, 26, from the Wirral in Merseyside, is going to every one of Swift’s shows in Liverpool.
She said: ‘I have been a fan since I was little and she was the first album I bought, Fearless. Something will definitely happen in the hundredth show.’
Swifties, however, have not just travelled from all over the country to see the Cruel Summer singer at her first show in England but from all over the world.
Stephanie von Neudegg, 33, and MJ Sheridan, 26, travelled across the Atlantic from western Canada to attend the concert.
Sophia Grey and her mother Jasmin are seen on the ‘Taylor Trail’ as the star hits Liverpool
Taylor Swift fans known as ‘Swifties’ have been posing for photos alongside devoted street art
This Taylor Swift mural has appeared outside the Phoenix Hotel in Liverpool
Miss von Neudegg: ‘We have come here from Western Canada just for Taylor Swift and we leave immediately tomorrow afterwards.
‘We booked it months and months ago. It was the only place we could get tickets and Canada was very, very expensive.’
Miss Sheridan added: ‘We had tickets to Seattle – which is about an hour plane ride from us – but it was going to be four times the price to go there than Liverpool.
‘We have been fans of Taylor Swift since the dawn of time and it’s great to be going together because a lot of our friendship is based around her.
‘And to be in a stadium full of other people who are unashamed Taylor Swift fans is going to be so fun.’
Linda and Jerry Benavides have travelled all the way from Seattle in the United States to see Swift in Liverpool – explaining that tickets to see her in America were extortionate.
Mrs Benavides, 45, said: ‘We have been fans since 2015 and now we have travelled halfway around the world to see Taylor Swift.
‘There will be people who will have travelled further than us but we decided to make a whole trip out of it. It’s cheaper to see her here than it is back in the US even with flying over and it’s been great to see different parts of England we might not have seen otherwise.’
Bright pink cowboy hats have become prized purchases for Taylor fans attending her concerts
Retailers across Liverpool have been doing a roaring trade in Taylor Swift-related merchandise
Liverpool City Council has put effort into welcoming Taylor Swift and worldwide fans arriving
Mr Benadvides added: ‘It’s the smallest show in her whole tour and it’s the most intimate concert she will play, it’s her hundredth show and it’s on the 13th – which also happens to be her half birthday.’
Sarah Duffy, 19, from Dublin, arrived in Liverpool today after conquering her fear of flying so she could visit the Swift trail in the city – after ‘wanting to go to a Taylor Swift concert for years’.
Her mother Mary Duffy, 53, said: ‘Sarah has a fear of flying but she overcame that fear today to come and see all the Taylor Swift installations in Liverpool. Anything for Taylor Swift.’
Fans have also landed in the city from all over the UK, including from the Channel Islands.
Jasmine Gray, 31, had travelled from Jersey so her eight-year-old daughter Sofia could see her ‘hero’.
She said: ‘We are very excited, we have been looking forward for this for months – she’s [my daughter’s] hero.
‘She’ll be wearing the 22 girl outfit. She’s got the hat, the T-shirt, the sunglasses. All she needs to do is find Taylor to be the 22 girl.
‘It’s her 110th show and lots of people are saying there might be a surprise, maybe Paul McCartney. She was in London with Stella McCartney so that’s the rumour.
Among those stocking up on merchandise are fans Stephanie Schrader and Mandy Lock
Sarah Duffy posed for pictures in Liverpool city centre as it experiences ‘Taylormania’
Taylor is due to play three gigs in Liverpool this week as part of her record-breaking Eras Tour
‘It’s also the 13th of June which is her lucky number and it’s her half-birthday so there’s a lot of clues.’
Little Sofia added that she was excited to see ‘anything from 1989’ played.
Amie Collins, 35, who had travelled from Newbury with her boyfriend said: ‘I think there is going to be some sort of surprise act.
‘A lot of speculation about who, with some people saying it might be Lana Del Rey or Paul McCartney. I think it’s going to be big.’
Her partner Scott Mosey, 36, added: ‘I am looking forward to it in two ways – for this and also because I am a Liverpool fan. We saw the stadium when we got the merchandise yesterday. And people in Liverpool have been so welcoming.’
A huge trail of Swift-themed art installations has been dotted in prominent positions across the city, with queues of fans standing to snap a quick picture at each spot.
Isaac Walton, 18, from Liverpool, said: ‘There has been so much anticipation. We are doing A Levels at the moment and it has been the thing that’s been keeping us going.
‘We had maths yesterday but after it I thought: well, that’s me done until after Taylor Swift. That’s the one thing that’s been keeping me going.
Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney, pictured performing at London’s O2 Arena in December 2016, has been mooted as a potential guest appearance at Taylor Swift’s Liverpool gigs
Taylor’s fellow US pop star Lana Del Rey, pictured performing at the Primavera Sound Festival in Spanish city Barcelona last month, has also been suggested in speculation
Florence and the Machine frontwoman Florence Welch, seen here at the Sziget Festival in Hungarian capital Budapest in August 2023, has been rumoured to appear too
‘It’s similar to how it was for Eurovision and the city has gone full out to welcome Taylor Swift.’
A pink and blue butterfly is based on the Royal Albert Docks representing her debut era while a mural for her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, was on display in the Liverpool One city centre shopping mall.
Elsewhere Swifties were seen playing the star’s hits – including Exile and Tolerate It – on a piano in Bluecoat Gardens, nodding to the singer’s 2020 album Folklore.
Claire McColgan, director of the city council’s Culture Liverpool team, said the trail would give people a chance to ‘enjoy a bit of Taylor magic’.
Self-prescribed ‘senior citizens’ Joyce Higton, 73, and 74-year-old Jeannie Barton, had travelled to Liverpool for their own ‘Tay-Day’.
Depsite not attending the concert, the art-lovers decided to visit the Swift art installation after hearing about the singer from their grandchildren.
Mrs Barton-Jude said: ‘We normally do art galleries but we thought this is new – we are very hip and with-it grandparents.’
Chloe Koo and Georgia Evans, both 16 and from Liverpool, were unable to get tickets for the show but still wanted to soak up as much of the atmosphere as possible.
Taylor Swift began the European leg of her Eras Tour with performances in Edinburgh last week
The singer put on shows lasting more than three hours at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium
The Edinburgh shows featured tracks spanning her career including songs from her latest album The Tortured Poets Department
Georgia said: ‘We are going to try and stand outside the stadium somewhere so we can hear it and see the atmosphere. Everything Liverpool has been doing with trail and banners has been so cool.’
Chloe added: ‘It’s nice that it’s in Liverpool rather than Manchester because normally we all have to go there.
‘And I think with Liverpool having such a musical history – with The Beatles and everything – to have all of this with Taylor Swift, who is probably the biggest star at the moment, it’s nice she is coming to our city.’
Ellie Openshaw, 19, from nearby Leigh in Greater Manchester, came to Liverpool with her mother Gill to take a look around the Taylor Swift trail.
While they could not get tickets for the Liverpool gigs, they will be attending a Taylor Swift concert in London later this summer.
Miss Openshaw said: ‘The community feel will be amazing and I am so excited to see the Tortured Poets Department live.’
Businesses were also seen getting behind the craze with many offering Swift-style deals.
Giant cut-outs of the singer were seen in shop windows while stalls on the high street prepared for the huge influx by selling pink cowboy hats and red sunglasses.
Images of Taylor Swift have been dominating shopfront window displays across Liverpool
Scarlett Shepard and Georgette Paul are among many flocking to the city for Taylor’s shows
The Metquarter shopping centre is offering Taylor Swift craft events – including ‘Blank Space’ canvas painting and ‘Bewjewled’ face gems, and will also be hosting a ‘Shake It Off’ silent disco.
Bars set up signs offering two-for-one cocktails asking party-goers if they fancied a ‘Swift one?’
Meanwhile Liverpool FC’s shop at Anfield has been taken over to become the official Eras Tour merch shop, as drone footage showed the pitch being transformed for the concert.
Merseyside Police has warned excited fans not to camp outside the stadium and advised people only to travel to the city if necessary.
The public also been urged to stay vigilant over the next three days with police patrols being ramped up across the city centre as well as at major train stations such as Liverpool Lime Street.
Dozens of fans queued up outside the merch store today to try and get their hands on T-shirts, selling for £40, £60 hoodies and posters costing £20.
Laura Capner, 28, and Heather Cowan, 28, live just down the road from Anfield Stadium and headed out to get their merchandise ahead of the weekend show.
Miss Capner said: ‘It makes me want to cry, I am so emotional. This is my Champions League final. It’s like we are living out our teenage dreams.
Elsewhere, London’s Potters Field park has hosted a photo booth where people posing have included the Oxford University Taylor Swift Society
Drone footage shows preparations for the gigs under way at Liverpool FC’s Anfield Stadium
Fans have been buying merchandise from the store at the Premier League club’s ground
‘We spent too much in the store – about £130 – but money comes back and we can “girl math” it away.’
Miss Cowan added: ‘This is my World Cup. I have loved her since Fearless when I was 13 or 14 – and now we are geriatrics. We can’t wait.’
Anna Arbiol, 28, and Jana Pla, 19, have travelled from Barcelona to see Swift’s performance tomorrow night.
Speaking outside Anfield, Miss Arbiol said: ‘We are super-excited. I’ll be crying the whole time. She was in Madrid but we didn’t get tickets there so we decided to come here. I hope don’t people scream that much though so I can actually hear her.’
Nicole Brinley, 37, and her group of girlfriends have travelled all the way from Boston in the US to see the artist.
Suitcases in tow, after landing in Liverpool the group decided their first stop should be to Anfield Stadium to pick up their VIP boxes.
The group have already seen her several times over the years and have been fans since Swift’s career began.
Ms Brinley said: ‘We just landed in Liverpool and we are here for a few days. Our first stop was the merchandise store.
Artwork based on Taylor Swift’s 2019 album Lover has attracted visitors posing for pictures
Her performances in Edinburgh last week have attracted rave reviews from fans and critics
Taylor Swift was pictured enjoying a ‘girls’ night out’ in London ahead of her Liverpool gigs
‘This is the second time we have seen her on this tour and we have seen her seven times before in Fearless, Speak Now and Red.
‘The price was good for Liverpool – everyone speaks English so we didn’t have a language barrier and we thought it would be a good girls’ trip.’
Stepahnie Schrader, 32 and from Manchester, has been trying to Swift for years but was put off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said: ‘I am so excited. I was meant to see her in 2018 but I couldn’t go. Then I was meant to see her at Lover Fest but that got cancelled because of Covid. I’ve been a fan since Red, so 2012, 2011 and I’ve never seen her.
‘I’m looking forward to the camaraderie between people and seeing everyone excited for something because I feel like it’s been a long time since a concert has seen this much hype and this intense.’
Swift’s concert on Thursday marks the 100th show in her Eras tour since she kicked off the world-wide show in Glendale, Arizona, on March 17 2023.
Fans claim it’s no surprise that the singer has chosen to play her 100th show on the 13th as it is her favourite number.
The sell-out performance marks her first show in England since her 2018 Reputation tour.
Taylor Swift was seen with celebrity friends at Argentine restaurant Casa Cruz in Notting Hill
A Taylor Swift-themed art trail has been set up in Liverpool as the city welcomes her arrival
Her three-day stint at Anfield Stadium comes after she began her UK tour in Edinburgh
Since then Swift has released five new albums and re-released four albums under the ‘Taylor’s Version’ moniker following her fall-out with label owner Scooter Braun.
The 14-time Grammy award-winner began her European tour in Lisbon last month before finally arriving in the UK last week for three shows in Edinburgh.
During her 72 hours in the Scottish capital the singer was not only given five-star reviews across the board for her performance but was praised for her generosity after making a sizeable donation to the Edinburgh Food Project.
Director Bethany Biggar said: ‘We are thrilled that Taylor has decided to support the food banks and leave a lasting impact on Edinburgh.
‘Things are really tough for a lot of people right now, so it is lovely to see someone like Taylor spreading such positivity.’
It has prompted speculation that Swift will also donate to charities across Merseyside during her stay.
The record-breaking world tour will see Swift perform between 44 and 46 songs over the course of 3 hours and 15 minutes.
The Eras Tour has already grossed more than $1billion, the largest haul for any pop act and bagging a Guinness World Record.
Taylor Swift fans are seen queuing for buses near Anfield after stocking up on merchandise
The Merseyside club’s official store has been overwhelmed by pop rather than football fans
Taylor Swift, pictured here performing at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium last Friday, has broken records with her ongoing worldwide Eras Tour
Her shows are predicted to provide a £997million boost to the UK economy.
Almost 1.2million fans will spend an average of £848 on tickets, travel, accommodation, outfits and other costs to see the pop superstar at one of the 15 British tour dates – more than 12 times the average cost of a night out, according to a Barclays Swiftonomics study.
Eras Tour tickets sparked a 15.8 per cent year-on-year increase in UK spending on entertainment when they were released last July.
The average amount spent on an Eras tour ticket is £206, although 14 per cent of fans – including those who bought VIP ticket packages with premium seating and exclusive merchandise – laid out more than than £400.