via Associated Press
After keeping us waiting for more than a year, Taylor Swift more than made up to her fans when she brought her show-stopping Eras Tour to Europe earlier in the summer.
Having already wowed Swifties all over the continent (including headline-grabbing shows around the UK in June), the 14-time Grammy winner is currently in the middle of a string of sold-out concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium, which is set to wrap up with two more shows on Monday and Tuesday night.
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From lyrical tweaks and iconic additions to the setlist to celebrity guests in the crowd, here are eight things you might have missed from this weekend’s Eras Tour shows…
Fans finally got the surprise song they thought might never come
With Taylor having now been on the road since March 2023, she’s very much running out of surprise songs to perform during the acoustic set towards the end of her show.
And when her first string of UK shows came and went earlier in the summer without a whiff of London Boy, some fans felt the divisive Lover cut might never get an outing on the Eras tour.
But its moment finally came on Friday night, when Taylor told her fans that she “loves the English” and launched into an acoustic version of her Anglophile anthem.
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She also changed one lyric to “I enjoy playing Wembley, sleeping ’til the afternoon” during the final chorus to commemorate the special occasion.
— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) August 16, 2024🚨| Taylor Swift performing "London Boy" at today's show! #LondonTSTheErasTour
taylor changing london boy lyrics to accurately reflect her sleep schedule 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/YGhocTNekV
— taylor (@wishescametrue) August 17, 2024
— taylor swift, london boy (eras tour london night 5) pic.twitter.com/Va3jUiCStz
— ebony 🤍 (@stilllgotscars) August 16, 2024
Taylor gave her parents a very sweet shout-out
Each night during the section of the Eras Tour dedicated to Folklore and Evermore, fans have taken to showering Taylor with minutes of applause and cheers after her performance of Champagne Problems.
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As mentioned, it literally happens at literally every show, so quite why she seems so surprised whenever it starts is a bit of a mystery, but hey, it’s a moment of joy for everyone concerned so who are we to be cynical?
Following Friday’s ovation, an emotional Taylor disclosed that her parents were in the crowd, to yet more cheers.
— kaia (@kaiamal13) August 16, 2024tay after the champagne problems applause 🥹
“i guarantee my parents were just recording that on their phones.. so anytime i’m having a sad or a bad day, not only will i play the video in my mind, but i’m gonna revisit that moment a lot - thank you so much for doing that” pic.twitter.com/W6kO4ynO9U
“I know I was recording a video of that in my head of that, but I guarantee my parents were just recording that on their phones,” she shared.
“Everytime I have a sad or bad day from now not only will I have the video in my mind but I’m going to revisit that moment.”
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Fans have started growing even more convinced that Reputation (Taylor’s Version) is within reach
🚨| Taylor Swift did a "20" with her hand instead of "22" during "22" where she usually does "22" using her hands but did "20" at today's show instead of "22"! #LondonTSTheErasTour pic.twitter.com/Tb9pvA7Bqx
— Taylor Swift Eras Tour Updates (@QueenSwiftie_13) August 17, 2024
During her performance of 22 on Saturday, fans noticed that Taylor appeared to be gesturing to the number “20” rather than 22, the age described in the song.
Of course, the last of Taylor’s Wembley Stadium shows falls on 20 August, which has led many Swifties to think there could be an announcement coming on Tuesday night about the latest of her album re-releases.
She also left the stage with an intriguing gesture on Saturday night
We all know Taylor loves dropping subtle clues and “Easter eggs” about her upcoming projects, so when she descended into the stage while making a snaking gesture with her hands, it led to even more speculation about the re-release of Reputation.
🚨| Taylor Swift seemingly doing a snake gesture while exiting the stage at today's show! #LondonTSTheErasTour pic.twitter.com/fqZzQ3alSS
— Taylor Swift Eras Tour Updates (@QueenSwiftie_13) August 18, 2024
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taylor did the snake gesture twice!!! and one of them was during CAUSE YOU GOT TIRED OF MY SCHEMING!!!! pic.twitter.com/s3u5yzEs9B
— Taylor Throwbacks (@ThrowbackTaylor) August 18, 2024
Other surprise songs from the weekend also point to Reputation
As well as Ed Sheeran’s cameo appearance, Thursday night’s show featured a performance of King Of My Heart, and the presence of two Reputation tracks on the same night led Swifties to think the star might be teasing something with her acoustic set.
Saturday night’s show also included a third Reputation cut, I Did Something Bad, which she performed on the acoustic guitar.
— heather | eras london (@hezipotter) August 18, 2024me: "well she's not gonna do i did something bad is she"
taylor 3 seconds later: pic.twitter.com/BgbdQjuneT
— Taylor Throwbacks (@ThrowbackTaylor) August 17, 2024taylor and the crowd performing i did something bad (ratatatatata version)
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Raise your hand if you feel personally victimized by Taylor playing I Did Something Bad and not announcing rep tv. pic.twitter.com/i4J7cmIvXC
— Amanda Orr (@amandakokesh) August 17, 2024
But some fans noticed there could have been another reason behind her performance of I Did Something Bad
I Did Something Bad is one of the Reputation cuts that sees Taylor more explicitly reflecting on her public persona, following her much-publicised fall-out with Kanye West and his then-wife Kim Kardashian that led her to take an extended break from the spotlight.
After blocking Ye’s latest album from the top spot with a re-release of her Tortured Poets Department album last week, some began to wonder if she deliberately chose I Did Something Bad to send a message to the controversial rapper.
after blocking a certain artist’s album
— sam olson (@astoldbysno) August 17, 2024
from going no. 1, changing “thanK you aIMee” to “thank You aimeE,” and doing “london boy” / “dear john” as surprise songs… taylor swift the icon you are https://t.co/OE9FTNfUw3
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As we’ve come to expect, there were plenty of of famous guests in attendance on Friday and Saturday night
Among them were Sharon Osbourne, former Taylor collaborator Florence Welch, various stars from the TV series The Vampire Diaries and activist Malala Yousafzai, who revealed on Instagram the Eras tour was her first ever concert experience.
Read Malala’s emotional Instagram post below:
Oh, and Sharon Osbourne also did this
Excellent work.
