Taylor Swift thanked her fans for braving the rain all day and breaking the all-time attendance record at Anfield Stadium as she kicked off her three-day stint in Liverpool tonight for the latest leg of her Eras Tour.
The Liverpool FC stadium was transformed into a sea of pink and red after many devoted Swift fans – known as Swifties – waited for hours in plastic ponchos to protect themselves from the dreary weather.
The American superstar began performing in front of a 53,000-strong crowd at 7pm tonight following a performance by the band Paramore.
Taylor, wearing a pink bejewelled bodysuit on stage, told fans: ‘I’m so excited. What you’ve already done here is crazy, because it has been raining all day; you have braved the rain; you came here ready to drape yourselves in plastic; you’ve been standing here; you’ve been ready for the show.’
She added: ‘I just want to say, those things means the world to us – getting to play this show for people who would go so far above and beyond for us, and welcome us to Liverpool in such a fashion. We love you so much.
‘And you know, while I was walking to the stage they pulled me aside and told me another thing that you’ve done for us tonight. And that thing is that you broke the all-time attendance record for this stadium tonight.’
Taylor also acknowledged that tonight marks the 100th show of the ‘exhausting’ Eras Tour, which she said will end in December.
Taylor Swift performs on stage during during The Eras Tour at Anfield tonight
Taylor Swift thanked her fans for braving the rain all day while on stage at Anfield Stadium tonight
Taylor wore a pink bejewelled bodysuit as she expressed her gratitude to the crowd
Two Taylor Swift fans brave the rain and wear ponchos to protect their themed outfits
Taylor swift fans queueing from the early hours to see their favourite singer in concert
Taylor looked ecstatic as she performed to a 53,000-strong crowd
Taylor said the 100th show marked the first time she has admitted to herself ‘that this tour is going to end in December, like that’s it’
Taylor Swift performs on stage at Anfield on Thursday during The Eras Tour
‘You know, this is actually the 100th show of the tour,’ the singer told the audience.
‘Absolutely, that blows my mind. That doesn’t feel like a real statistic to me, because this has definitely been the most exhausting, all-encompassing, but most joyful, most rewarding, most wonderful thing that has ever happened in my life, this tour.’
Taylor said the 100th show marked the first time she has admitted to herself ‘that this tour is going to end in December, like that’s it’.
‘I think this tour has really become my entire life,’ the 34-year-old continued. ‘It has taken over everything.
‘I think I once had hobbies, but I don’t know what they were anymore, because all I do when I’m not on-stage is sit at home, and try to think of clever acoustic song mashups, and think about what you might want to hear.
‘When I’m not on the stage, I’m dreaming about being back on the stage with you guys.’
While performing her hit song 22, Taylor gave her fedora hat to a little girl at the end of the stage.
Taylor wrapped up tonight’s show by expressing gratitude towards her ‘incredible’ backing dancers, vocalists and band.
‘Liverpool, my fellow performers and my band and my dancers and my singers, we have all performed hundreds of hours on this tour, and we are very happy to celebrate 100 with you tonight,’ she said.
The UK leg of Swift’s mammoth international Eras tour began in Edinburgh and saw the enthusiastic dancing of nearly 73,000 Swifties picked up by earthquake monitors 3.7 miles away.
Earlier today, poncho-wearing Swifties headed to Anfield Stadium in droves clad in sequins, feather boas and cowboy hats as they counted down the hours to see their favourite popstar.
‘Nothing could dampen our spirits today,’ Reece Edwards, 22, from Manchester who dressed up in the Reputation Era told MailOnline.
Dressed in coordinated sparkly dresses with her friends Lucy Powell, 16, added: ‘We too excited. We got the tickets a year ago and we are so excited to see her perform Reputation songs.
One fan is seen wearing a Taylor-Swift themed poncho to protect herself from the rain
Taylor Swift fans brave the rain and wear poncho’s outside Anfield
A group of Swifties post for a photo outside Anfield while wearing ponchos over their outfits
Hundreds were spotted wearing themed outfits with ponchos over the top
‘We have made more than 100 bracelets while waiting for the show.’
Many Swifites have spent hours making friendship bracelets to trade with fellow fans who have flown from all over the world for the show, which will cover all of the singer’s albums to date.
Hundreds were spotted wearing themed outfits. Some wore shimmery purple dresses in line with her third studio album Speak Now or dressed up how Swift appeared in her 2012 music video 22.
Others decided to dress up in fashion with her later albums. Amy Patterson, 30, and Rachel Varney, 33, were spotted in bright orange jumpsuits after taking from one of Swift’s songs on her 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department.
‘We have our jumpsuits on, we are Fresh Out the Slammer,’ Miss Patterson said. ‘We made most of our costumes last night.’
Dressed in a sparkly dress and cowboy hat Elan Mabbutt, 17, who traveled with her sister Alice, 16, from Aberystwyth in Wales for the show said: ‘I am so excited. I’ve been excited for ages and we got a puppy this morning so this is the best day.
‘We skipped a day of school last year to make sure we got tickets.
Some wore purple dresses in line with her third studio album Speak Now
Several Taylor-Swift themed ponchos can be seen as fans brave the rain outside the stadium
Taylor Swift fans battle the elements and wear poncho’s outside Anfield
Two fans pose for a selfie as they wear ponchos to protect themselves from the rain
Taylor Swift fans battle the bad weather and wear ponchos outside Anfield
One fan holds an umbrella while another looks less than pleased as they battle the weather
‘We can’t wait for the surprised songs. I hope she plays the Lakes as we are so near to the Lake District.’
Ellie Peel, 16, from Manchester and Caitlin Martin, 18, from North Wales, had dressed up as their favourite music videos.
Ellie said: ‘I’m dressed as the I Bet You Think About Me music video.
‘I spent too long making bracelets, traded a few today and all together made around 300. I’ve not got them all with me though as we’re going to the London show too.’
Caitlin added: ‘And I’m dressed as the Miss Americana music video. I knew what I wanted to dress up as as soon as she announced the tour but trying to find the right dress was hard.’
Hundreds of people were seen wearing colourful ponchos refusing to let the rain bring them down on a day they have been waiting over a year for.
Parents were seen with their young children and groups of teenagers were seen laughing and singing as they waited for the gates to open.
Swifities have travelled far and wide for today’s concert which is the first England since the pop star kicked off the tour last year in America.
Taylor Swift fans Lucy Powell, Jessica Mason and Abbie Mason outside Anfield
Cowboy boots were a common choice of shoe for the Eras Tour to reflect Taylor Swift’s country eras
Taylor Swift fans Phoebe Mcqueen and Tabby Dickson outside Anfield
.Taylor Swift fans battle the elements and wear poncho’s outside Anfield
Eager fans have been waiting outside the stadium since 3am not deterred by Merseyside Police’s no camping warning.
Speculation was growing in the crowd this morning that the singer would surprise her fans tonight with an announcement to mark the hundredth show of her tour – which also happens to fall on the 13th, her favourite number.
Rumours include that she could bring out Liverpool legend Sir Paul McCartney or Swift’s fellow American singer Lana del Rey.
Other fans thought a music video might be released or the release date for Reputation, Taylor’s Version could be announced.
Katy, 20, and Melissa, 21, Jameson from Manchester also dressed up as their favourite Swift moments and are expecting a big announcement tonight.
Melissa, who wore a red dress to match the I Bet You Think About Me music video said: ‘We are very excited. Because it’s the 13th I think she might announce something, maybe Reputation Taylor’s Version.’
Katy, who dressed up in a white dress after her favourite song Champagne Problems added: ‘I wanted her to play exile but she’s already played that last week. But whatever she plays will be amazing.’
Reece Edwards from Birkenhead added: ‘We are excited but nervous. You never know what she’s going to pull out.
His friend Ruby Bilsbury, 20, from St Helen’s who dressed up as a Mirrorball added: ‘She just doesn’t seem real and you never know what’s going to happen. I’m hoping she will announce Reputation album.
Two Taylor Swift fans pose for a photo while waiting for the Taylor Swift concert to start
Many fans could be seen wearing the friendship bracelets commonly worn to Taylor Swift shows
A fan dresses in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat to reflect Taylor Swift’s country albums
Excitement within Liverpool has been building for days, with colourful stalls full with pink and red feather boas and cowboy hats filling the streets.
The city has even set up the Taylor Town Trail – a group of eleven art installations dotted all over the city, with each piece representing a different album, or ‘era’.
Fans have been seen crowded around each installation, taking selfies or singing their favourite songs.
Meanwhile others were seen queuing in line for merchandise at the Anfield Stadium to get their hands on t-shirts, hoodies and posters.
Rebecca Pogyson and Jess Gledehill, both 28 from Huddersfield, dressed up as a devil and angel in reference to Swift’s song Cruel Summer.
‘We are very excited. Reputation is our favourite era. Our mums made our outfits. We would have been screwed if they didn’t help us out,’ they said.
‘All of my surprise songs are gone so there’s no chance of them being repeated but anything from Reputation, Lover or Speak Now would be great.
‘It would be so good if she brought out Florence Welch too.’
Phoebe McQueen, 24, and Tabby Dickson, 27, from Bolton have spent hours sewing the names of Swifts songs onto their dresses and making bracelets.
‘We can’t wait, we are so excited,’ they said. ‘We have been waiting a year for this. We hope there will be a guest announcement as it’s the hundredth show but it will be amazing either way.
‘Some saying Florence and the Machiene or a third anthology to her last album.’
Swift’s concert today 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.
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.
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.
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 £400.