City to host art installations, craft workshops and a conference dedicated to singer’s cultural and economic impact
When it hosted Eurovision in 2023, Liverpool solidified its reputation as the place that celebrates music better than any other.
Now the team that put together the city-wide celebration will be taking that title to the next level in honour of Taylor Swift and her army of fans who will descend on Liverpool for a three-day run of sold-out shows in June.
Between 8 and 16 June, the city is to be transformed into “Taylor Town” with a series of art installations celebrating the pop star. There will also be an academic conference and Swift-themed craft workshops aiming to maximise the singer’s boost to the city economy.
Swift will be in Merseyside to perform at Anfield Stadium from 13 June, as part of her global record-breaking Eras tour.
Liverpool ONE, Royal Albert Dock Liverpool and the Metquarter will each feature an artwork representing one of her 11 albums as part of the Taylor Town Trail.
The works, curated by the city council’s Culture Liverpool team in partnership with the social enterprise Make CIC, will include a moss-covered grand piano to represent the evermore era, a “red room” representing the Red era and giant hearts to depict the Lover era.
A series of ticketed craft workshops – called Liverpool Loves Taylor (Craft Version) – will also take place at the Metquarter, where visitors will be able to get creative with origami that will form part of an installation, transform T-shirts in a session called Swif-tee Transformation, upcycle denim, make collages and decorate cupcakes – all inspired by the singer.
Academics at the University of Liverpool are putting together Tay Day, a conference to “debate and deconstruct” the star’s work on 12 June.
Describing itself as a “symposium for fans, students and academics to engage with the cultural phenomenon that is Taylor Swift”, the conference is organised by the university’s Institute of Popular Music and will feature academics from across Europe speaking on topics such as Swift’s place in feminism.
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The day will culminate in a session of Critical Karaoke – where researchers will perform one-song essays to their chosen Swift track.
Dr Sam Murray and Dr Amy Skjerseth from the institute said: “The musical, social and economic impact of Taylor Swift is undeniable and that’s why we’re really looking forward to starting a conversation about how Taylor is both Miss Americana and an anti-hero, to understand her style and her wildest dreams and to discuss her reputation.”
Liverpool City council’s cabinet member for culture, the councillor Harry Doyle, said Liverpool had been watching the economic impact of Swift’s European tour leg on its host cities for more than a year, noting that “wherever she goes, an entourage of adoring fans follow”.
The Eras tour, which kicks off its UK leg in Edinburgh on 7 June before going to Liverpool, Cardiff and London, is expected to provide a £997m boost to the UK economy, according to the Barclays Swiftonomics report published last week.
