welcome to the blog
Welcome to a special edition of the Guardian Europe blog, brought to you from outside La Defense Arena in Paris, France.
Tonight, Taylor Swift will perform here in front of an enthusiastic international crowd on the first night of the European leg of her Elas Tour.
I’ve spent most of the day talking to fans who have arrived for the concert, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how tonight’s show turns out.
Many of the fans here today are in their late teens and early 20s. Most seem to be longtime Swifties and are familiar with Taylor’s music.
They also put a lot of time and effort into preparing for the show, from Taylor-themed costumes to friendship bracelets.
Please wait for further information.
Are you coming to the Paris era show? Are you a Swiftie following from afar? Send us your thoughts on your favorite songs, costumes, expectations for tonight, and TTPD reviews to eras.europe@theguardian.com.
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“The tour will be different,” she said. “The show will be a brand new one,” Plasse said, adding Taylor Swift is adding new music to the lineup.
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“I’m expecting the Swifties to be very surprised,” she said.
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Who’s coming?
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45,000 people will attend each of the four Paris shows, Plasse said.
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A total of 30% of the audience is expected to arrive from outside of France. And 20% of attendees will be from the United States, according to Plasse. Americans are the biggest contingent from outside France, followed by concert-goers from the UK and Belgium.
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The crowd is set to be young and overwhelmingly female: 56% of ticket buyers were younger than 25, and 70% were female.
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“There will be a lot of parents,” Plasse noted.
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This morning, ahead of Taylor Swift’s first Eras show in Europe, people lined up patiently near the Paris La Défense Arena to buy Swift-themed mechanise
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Margaux, a 16-year-old from Paris, said she has been a Swift fan since 2021-2022, listening first to the pandemic-era album Folklore. But she now loves Taylor’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD), as well.
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“I’m expecting TTPD,” she said, pointing on online clues from the American singer.
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“I hope she’s not going to stop doing the surprise song, because that’s the best part of the concert,” she said.
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Manon, a 29-year-old from Brittany, said she has been a fan since around the age of 12. “I want TTPD, but I’m here for the Lover album, and 1989,” she said.
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Standing nearby in the line, her 21-year-old cousin, Pauline, joked: “when she was babysitting me at my grandma’s house, she would force me to watch Taylor Swift… so we grew up together watching that.”
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wait to buy merchandise near Paris La Defense Arena on Thursday morning”,”caption”:”Thursday morning near Paris La Defense Arena Fans waiting to buy merchandise”, “credit”:”Photo: Lili Bayer/The Guardian”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},” blockCreatedOn”:1715271072000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay” :”12.11 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1715271301000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”12.15 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1715271301000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”12. 15 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”12.15 “,”title”:”Fans waiting in line for French goods”, “Contributor”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Thursday May 9, 2024 12.27 EDT”,”SecondaryDateLine”:”First published Thursday May 9, 2024 12.11 EDT”},{“id”:”663cd6148f08027d8b86e093″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Welcome to a special edition of the Guardian Europe blog, coming to you from outside the Paris La Défense Arena in France.
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Tonight, Taylor Swift will be performing here in front of an enthusiastic international crowd, on the first evening of the Europe leg of her Eras tour.
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I’ve spent much of the day talking to fans who arrived for the concert, and are highly excited to see how the show might be changing tonight.
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Many of the fans here today are in their late teens or early 20s. Most appear to be longtime Swifties – and very well-versed in Taylor’s music.
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They have also put a lot of time and effort into preparations for the show, from Taylor-themed outfits to friendship bracelets.
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Stay tuned for updates.
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Are you here at the Paris era show? Are you a Swiftie following from afar? Send us your thoughts on favourite songs, outfits, expectations for tonight and reviews of TTPD to: eras.europe@theguardian.com
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important events
“The tour will be different than before,” says a Paris Arena official.
Raphael PlasseThe head of booking and venue management at Paris La Defense Arena spoke to the Guardian ahead of today’s concert about what to expect.
“Tour is going to be different,” she said. “The show will be completely new,” Plasse said, adding that Taylor Swift is adding new music to the lineup.
“I think the Swifties will be very surprised,” she said.
Who’s coming?
Plasse said 45,000 people will attend each of the four shows in Paris.
A total of 30% of the audience is expected to be from outside France. Plasse said 20% of the participants will be from the United States. The largest number of concert-goers from outside France are Americans, followed by those from the United Kingdom and Belgium.
The audience seemed to be young and overwhelmingly female, with 56% of ticket buyers under 25 and 70% female.
“There’s going to be a lot of parents,” Plasse noted.
Hours before the show, some of the fans waiting to enter the arena were already singing.
This group of fans is getting ready.
Did you come to see the show?Send your feedback to eras.europe@guardian.co.uk#ErasTourParis pic.twitter.com/bSdTwBRp9u
— Lilie Bayer (@liliebayer) May 9, 2024
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Lisa, 18, from France, chose an outfit inspired by Speak Now.
French fans queuing for goods
People patiently lined up near Paris’ La Defense Arena this morning to buy Swift-themed machines ahead of Taylor Swift’s first European Elas show.
Margaux, a 16-year-old from Paris, said she has been a Swift fan since 2021-2022 and heard her pandemic-era album Folklore for the first time. But she now also likes Taylor’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD).
“I’m expecting TTPD,” she said, pointing to an online clue from the American singer.
“I hope she doesn’t stop doing surprise songs, because that’s the best part of the concert,” she said.
Manon, 29, from Brittany, has been a fan since she was around 12 years old. She said, “She wants TTPD, but she came here for the album ‘Lover’ and 1989.”
joked my cousin Pauline, 21, who was standing near the queue. She said, “When I was babysitting at her grandmother’s house, she would force me to watch Taylor Swift…so we grew up watching it together.”
Ahead of the show, many fans waiting outside in the sunshine spent time making and exchanging friendship bracelets. Some are already ready.
welcome to the blog
Welcome to a special edition of the Guardian Europe Blog, brought to you from outside La Defense Arena in Paris, France.
Tonight, Taylor Swift will perform here in front of an enthusiastic international crowd on the first night of the European leg of her Elas Tour.
I’ve spent most of the day talking to fans who have arrived for the concert, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how tonight’s show turns out.
Many of the fans here today are in their late teens and early 20s. Most seem to be longtime Swifties and are familiar with Taylor’s music.
They also put a lot of time and effort into preparing for the show, from Taylor-themed costumes to friendship bracelets.
Please wait for further information.
Are you coming to the Paris era show? Are you a Swiftie following from afar? Send us your thoughts on your favorite songs, costumes, expectations for tonight, and TTPD reviews to eras.europe@theguardian.com.
