Taylor Swift Pushes Up Set Times for Wembley Stadium Eras Tour Gigs; Unticketed Swifties Told To Stay Home
Swifties will be let into Wembley Stadium a bit earlier than usual for Taylor Swift‘s upcoming Eras Tour shows in London. According to the venue, early entry for Thursday’s (August 15) kick-off of the five-night stand will begin at 3:30 local time, with general admission beginning at 4 p.m. and the show starting at 4:55; both entry times have been pushed up by 15 minutes, leading to reports in the English press that Swift may take the stage earlier than her typical 7:25 start time as well.
Those time frames will also hold for the August 19 and August 20 shows, while Friday (August 16) and Saturday’s (August 17) gigs will push early entry to 3:45 and GA to 4:15, with the show slated to start at 5:10. At press time a spokesperson for Swift had not returned a request for comment on the change to the show times. Swift will be joined on the dates by Raye, Holly Humberstone, Paramore and Suki Waterhouse.
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The sold-out five-night stay that will wrap up Swift’s European Eras Tour European swing will unfold a week after officials in Vienna foiled what they said was a terror plot aimed at disrupting the singer’s global outing during what was a planned three-night run at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium on August 8-10. So far, two arrests have been made in the incident, including the as-yet-unnamed 19-year-old main suspect, who reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terror group and admitted to the plot he said would have involved the use of home made explosives and knives to attack fans outside the stadium; another teenager has also been taken into custody in the incident and a third was detained as well.
Undeterred by the plot in which the 19-year-old said he hoped to kill as many people as possible, Swifties gathered in the streets of Vienna to sing her songs and get engaged after the shows were called off. A day after the arrests, officials in London assured fans that the cancelled Vienna shows would not impact the UK gigs.
During the European tour dates viral videos have shown unticketed Swifties gathering by the tens of thousands for the traditional “Tay-gating” outside the venues, including last month in Munich were an estimated 40,000 people sat on a hillside to listen to the show. Following the Vienna threat, though, Wembley has strongly discouraged such unsanctioned gatherings.
Wembley also noted that because the venue is situated in a residential area, organizers have asked that only Swifties with tickets or those visiting the merch megastores visit to avoid disruption to local businesses and residents. “To support with the safe entry and exit of everyone within the stadium, no one is allowed to stand outside any entrance or on the Olympic Steps at the front of the stadium. Non ticket holders will be moved on,” the venue noted.
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