This Night Is Sparkling - Why ‘The Eras Tour’ Was a Sanctuary For Swifties

If any of you also attended Taylor Swift’s record-breaking ‘The Eras Tour’ recently, I have a feeling you’re about to know exactly what I mean. The concert felt like an enormously significant moment in my life, but not only that, it felt like a safe space for Swifties specifically, and women in general.

Best Believe I’m Still Bejeweled

When I arrived at Wembley at about 3pm on 15th August 2024, the area was already crammed full of people and the atmosphere was phenomenal, it was electric. Never have I seen so many cowboy boots and sequins in one place at one time, and no one in these potentially ridiculous outfits was being ridiculed for it. I, for one, did not expect to feel so confident decked out head to toe in pink glitter, sequins, and bedazzled cowboy boots (my outfit was inspired by the Lover era if you hadn’t guessed).

Often women are mocked for revelling in their femininity; wearing glitter, liking pink, or honestly even liking Taylor Swift, is often seen as immature or silly, but there was no sense of this at the tour.

So why was it that we were all able to wear our sparkles and scream the lyrics to our favourite songs with no shame?

I’m hesitant to blame men entirely, because I’m sure there’s more too it than that — the majority of men who did attend were nothing but respectful — however the show, as well as the lead up and aftermath, was an incredibly female dominated space, and did feel unprecedentedly safe.

I Had The Best Day With You, Today

I had expected to be a little nervous in a crowd of 92,000, but either side of me were the friends I was attending with, and a mum with her two teenage daughters. I could not have been surrounded by kinder people.

The lovely mum I was stood next to even went full ‘mum-mode’ on me when I nearly forgot my brand new merch jumper at the end of the show (in my defence I was rushing to get my boots back on and catch up with my friends and it just slipped my mind but thankfully she reminded me to take it and I’m so very grateful to her for that - don’t think I could have forgiven myself if I’d left a £65 jumper behind).

Make The Friendship Bracelets, Take The Moment And Taste It

I also think that new tradition of trading friendship bracelets added to the intimate atmosphere. I made 40-something bracelets, some of which I gave to my friends, some I kept, the rest I tried to trade, and a handful of which I gave to the cutest little girl at my hotel’s reception after the show. I’d never met most of the people I traded with before, but I’m still wearing their bracelets and have no plans to take them off. I hope some other Swiftie out there is wearing a bracelet I gave them too.

As mentioned, when we got back to our hotel and were waiting for the lift, a little girl (she couldn’t have been older than five or six), wearing an Eras Tour t-shirt came up to me and asked if I was at the show, we had a little chat about how great it was and how much we love Taylor, when I asked if she wanted some bracelets as I still had a bunch left to trade. She already had two or three around her wrists but she still asked if I wanted one of hers, of course I told her to keep them, and gave her about five of mine.

I genuinely could have cried, she was so grateful and I hope she had the best night ever at the show. The fact that this tiny Swiftie felt comfortable enough to come up to me and chat about our shared interest just shows the sense of community that Taylor has created - the little girl’s family was close by of course, so I’m sure they hyped her up to come and chat, but I think the point stands. Taylor has created an environment where a tiny child and a twenty-something fan can chat for ten minutes about a common interest, and personally, I love that.

You And I’ll Be Safe And Sound

Not only were the other fans incredibly kind and considerate, but the staff at Wembley and the surrounding areas were really well prepared for the shows, and the onslaught of women in glitter. I was expecting the short walk back to the tube in the huge crowds to be slightly terrifying, but the staff operated a ‘stop-go’ system along Wembley Way, while fans sang along even more Taylor Swift songs, continued to trade friendship bracelets, and chatted among themselves. I saw one person become unwell and pass out, but in no time at all she was surrounded by staff and given snacks by friendly strangers to help her feel better.

I Don’t Know How It Gets Better Than This

On the whole, the show was incredible, the fans all looked fabulous, and the atmosphere was gorgeous. I hope everyone who’s been to any of the shows had as brilliant a time as I did. Every minute of that show was worth the aching feet from dancing too hard and sore throat from screaming and singing along.

PS, if you still have a chance to get last minute tickets, and you haven’t already been, go go go!! There are no bad seats, you’ll have a blast.