Taylor Swift is beginning her United Kingdom adventure performing three sold out nights at the Scotland Gas Murrayfield stadium.
“The last time I was here was almost 10 years ago,” she said holding her sky blue “Lover” guitar in front of nearly 73,000 screaming fans. The last time the Eras Tour star performed within the Scottish borders was her “1989 World Tour” in Glasgow in 2015.
“I had someone pull me aside and say, ‘Hey we checked this 20 times and we swear it’s accurate, ‘This is the highest attended concert in Scottish history,'” she added. “What a way to welcome a lass to Scotland.”
Harry Styles held the record with 65,000 fans on at his Love on Tour show in 2023, according to The National. The news site said the stadium capacity was increased by 8% for the Eras Tour.
In a warm gesture to the singer’s arrival, the First Minister or head of the Scottish Government hosted a renaming ceremony at Loch Tay, a freshwater lake two hours north of Edinburgh.
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“The first thing I want to say to Taylor and to all of her Swifties is they’re really really welcome here in Scotland,” said Scottish First Minister John Swinney during a media event at the lake on Wednesday. “I’m so thrilled and the fact that Loch Tay is being renamed Loch Tay Tay is just fabulous.”
Swift’s massive tour schedule is slated to visit 22 countries over the course of two years with 18 European cities on the itinerary. She has performed some cities in the past like London, Paris and Madrid. Other cities are new to her world tour including Lyon, France and Stockholm, Sweden.
In a similar message during her “All Too Well (10 Minute Version),” Swift told the Scottish audience how she loves that the Eras Tour showcases her extensive discography.
“My one regret in terms of the tours that we’ve done is that I really should have come to play in Scotland more,” she said. “Look at what you’ve done. You made us feel so welcome. You’ve been so beautifully generous to us.”
Swift’s three plus hour show boomed out of the open-roofed stadium in Scotland to fans sitting outside the Murrayfield walls. Known as “Taylor”gating, fans sat on the grass attempting to watch livestreams on their phones of the show inside while listening to the music live. However, different from other concert cities, the livestreams inside the stadium were incredibly spotty and unreliable.
The Eras Tour heads next to Liverpool, England on Thursday when Swift will perform her 100th Eras Tour show on June 13.
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