Taylor Swift’s 1989 World Tour consisted of 85 shows, 4 continents, 7 months, and millions of fans in attendance. It all began on May 5th of this year in Tokyo, Japan, and it will conclude on December 12 in Melbourne, Australia.
For the people lucky enough to have attended one of these incredible shows, I hope you enjoyed the experience as much as I did! I was fortunate enough to attend three of her shows—two in Philadelphia and one in East Rutherford, NJ. It’s safe to say that I’m slightly obsessed with T. Swift!
Hopefully this article allows those who were not able to attend any of the shows feel as though they were right there in the crowds!
The fun began even before taking your seats. As with previous tours, there was memorabilia galore out on the main concourse beyond the entrance gates. If you were willing to wait in a 20 to 30 minute line for a T-shirt and some glow sticks, I give you a lot of credit.
Given how popular Taylor is, it honestly wasn’t a surprise that lines for something as simple as a T-shirt were crazy. With this tour, Taylor created the option of ordering tour gear ahead of time and simply picking it up at one of the stand locations. I took advantage of this option so I could spend more time taking in all of the other fun things Taylor had set up on the main level of the venue.
After picking up my pre-ordered shirts and other commemorative items, off to the main concourse I went. Taylor had everything from photographers to take an album-themed picture with your group to places to purchase her line of Keds sneakers and basically anything else you can imagine!
All of these things fostered such an incredible energy among those in attendance and furthered the excitement for what was to come. Being among tens of thousands of other girls (and some guys, too!) who love Taylor Swift as much as I do made it that much more fun and exciting! The Taylor Swift fandom can be crazy sometimes, but her concerts are what bring all of us Swifties together.
I was fortunate enough to have pit tickets for each of the three shows. As I made my way to the pit entrance and entered the area, all I could think was “WOW, Queen Swift is going to be right in front of me…literally!” The only downside to having special tickets like this was having to stand for the entire show. But trust me, being that close to the stage is well worth not being able to sit down!
Once the incredible opening acts performed, the show was really about to begin! It started off with her playing one of my personal favorites from the 1989 album, “Welcome to New York.” Let me tell you, that was the perfect song to start the show with because the energy in the crowd went up several notches!
With each song, she changed into yet another adorable outfit and the graphics on the LED stage screens really brought the song to life. Her backup dancers were incredibly talented and played an important role in bringing the songs to another level on stage.
As if the crowd couldn’t be anymore riled up, Taylor had a few surprises for us all! At other shows, Taylor invited Cara Delevingne, Mariska Hargitay, Sydney Sierota from Echosmith, and Rachel Platten to come as special guests during her performances!
But the show I went to in northern New Jersey was probably the best. Taylor not only had the entire World Cup Champion US Women’s Soccer team there, but also the dream girl squad: Karlie Kloss, Candice Swanepoel, Cara Delevingne, Behati Prinsloo, Martha Hunt, Lily Aldridge, and Gigi Hadid! It was UNREAL seeing all of the women I look up to so much together right in front of me!
Another aspect of Taylor’s shows that is well-known, besides having special guests, is the superfan-seeking team she has. This is a group of people (including her mom) that work each of Taylor’s shows and look for the happiest, most enthusiastic Swifties in the crowd.
If you’re lucky enough to get a tap on the shoulder from one of them and are asked, “Would you like to meet Taylor Swift?” say yes! When they surprise someone with this question, they then give the lucky fan and up to 10 people in their group passes to meet Taylor after the show! This was known as Loft 89 for the most recent tour, but the name changes each time she kicks off another tour.
And for anyone lucky enough to have received one of those passes, I hope you had a dream-fulfilling moment meeting Taylor! I was one person away from getting picked at the second Philadelphia show; the girl behind me was “the lucky one” (my fellow Swifties will get the pun).
Despite not getting picked for Loft 89 at any of the three shows I attended, it was truly the greatest collective experience of my life. Taylor has a way of connecting with each member of the crowd and letting them know how much she loves every one of them. She is a genuine, kind-hearted woman who is immensely talented and someone all little girls can look up to.
Thank you Taylor for an incredible tour and keep being you!
Love,
Your Swifties