Taylor Swift has taken to the stage at Wembley Stadium in front of 90,000 adoring fans including her new NFL beau Travis Kelce and his family.
The pop princess has kicked off her London Eras Tour residency and those in the star-studded VIP tent include her boyfriend Travis, his brother American footballer Jason Kelce, supermodel Cara Delevingne as well as Bridgerton darling Nicola Coughlan.
As she started her three-hour long set, Taylor Swift said: ‘You’re making me feel like tonight I get to play my first sold out show at Wembley Stadium on The Eras Tour!’
She added: ‘There are 88.446 people in this stadium today.’
Today is the first of three sold out dates at Wembley, with the international sensation returning in August to perform another five.
Taylor’s adoring fans are brimming with anticipation to know if she will perform any of her London-inspired hit songs.
Among a few is London Boy from her 2019 album Lover, which is speculated to be about her ex-boyfriend of six years and British actor Joe Alwyn.
Wembley is awash with sparkling outfits, cowboy hats, gemstones and glitter today as thousands of Taylor Swift fans gathered for her opening night in London.
Swifties had travelled from across the country for the latest sell-out performance of her Eras Tour.
Teenage girls and boys were joined by mums, dads and younger siblings – and fans of all ages – ahead of the three-and-a-half hour gig, that has already blown the roofs off stadiums across Britain and Europe.
Devoted followers sang the lyrics of her many hits word-perfect that were blasted out at the Taylor Swift fan zone at the BoxPark Wembley on the Olympic Walk up to the stadium entrance.
Fans exchanged bracelets and discussed their favourite tunes ahead of the big event. Others joined long queues to buy official merchandise – t-shirts, sweat-shirts, hats and bags.
Among them were sisters Amna, 14, and Zainab Butt, 20, from west London.
Amna told how would not have missed this concert for anything in the world.
She said: ‘It’s Taylor Swift it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.’
Zainab, a student, added: ‘This is going to be the best night of my life.’
Amelie Jones, 28, Lucy Goodwin, 28 and Caroline parish, 28 from Sussex.
Explaining what this concert meant to her Amelie said: ‘Taylor Swift has a ding her every occasion.
Lucy added: ‘I have grown up with Taylor Swift. She has been there with me through all the heartbreaks.’
Families and university friends got together to watch Taylor Swift’s first London performance.
Mum Jackie brought her 18-year-old daughter Eva and three friends from Bath to attend the concert.
She said: ‘We won the battle to get Taylor Swift tickets and now we’re here!’
Dad Ed, 51, from Blackheath put on his best party shirt to accompany his wife Tina and their 11-year-old daughter Odette to the show.
Birmingham university Poppy, 27, Hannah, 26, Rachel, 26 and Joanna, 26 used the occasion to get back together – and to wear matching Taylor Swift t-shirts.
Rachel explained: ‘We all love Taylor Swift and we just can’t wait for the show.’
Nottingham university friends Harriet, 26, Heidi, 26, Nicole, 26 and Jade, 26 said they had met up especially for the concert.
Harriet said: ‘it’s going to be a fantastic night, a fantastic performance.’
German tourists Camille, 29, Julia, 28, Malena, 27 and Lena 27 had flown over especially from Bremen for the show.
Camille explained: ‘we came to see the Queen of music.’
Teenagers Evie Mulcahi, 18, Jess Dobson 19 Frankie Epsom, 19, and Katie Mayling had come from Derby to take part in this highly anticipated event.
Evie said: ‘Taylor Swift is simply the best. She gets all different people together to have a good time. And she’s so cool.’
Becky Colton, 28 and Alice Parkinson, 28 had come from Nottingham for the show.
Becky explained: Taylor Swift is an icon. This is history.’
Best friends Charlotte Harris, 29 and Sophie Wayman, 31 from Essex explained how they had dreamed to seeing Taylor Swift together.
Charlotte said: ‘We’ve been friends all our lives and we always dreamed of going to see a Taylor Swift concert together.’
It has become a tradition for Swifties to trade friendship bracelets at the Eras Tour as a nod to a lyric from the nostalgic anthem You’re On Your Own Kid.
Taylor sings: ‘So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it.’
Fans have predicted that the American megstar will choose a London-themed tune as her surprise song.
Many are hoping for Swift’s more melancholy hits such as ‘So Long, London’ and ‘The Black Dog’ from her recent album The Tortured Poets Department.
‘The Black Dog’ is largely believed to be about 1975 singer, Matty Healy, who she reportedly has a brief two week relationship with following her break-up with Alwyn.
The lyrics seemingly reference a Vauxhall pub, as well as band – The Starting Line – whose songs The 1975 have covered several times during their tour.
‘So Long, London’ is widely rumoured to be a goodbye song to the city as well as her ex-partner Alwyn.
During the woeful track, she sings: ‘I left all I knew, you left me at the house by the Heath.
‘I stopped CPR, after all it’s no use. The spirit was gone, we would never come to. And I’m p****d off you let me give you all that youth for free.’
Many fans arrived as early as Tuesday in preparation for today’s concert, lying under blankets and camping out in tents for several days.
More of the 90,000 strong crowd made their way to the arena today, with those who forked out for VIP packages getting to head into Wembley at 8am.
Others travelled from across the globe to just watch Swift deliver her blockbuster three-hour set in London tonight.
Among those venturing across countries to see Taylor are long-distance friends Filip and Bailey, who made separate journeys all the way from Croatia and Florida respectively.
Speaking about why they had come to London, Bailey: ‘I can’t wait to see Taylor, this is like the best show to go to.’
Filip added: ‘It feels special, dazzling and magic here.’
Meanwhile, friends Rachel and Yan travelled from Ipswich in Suffolk to catch a glimpse of Taylor taking to the stage.
Rachel said: ‘We’re so excited to be here, I’m hoping to hear the original songs from the first album.’
Alongside wanting to hear tracks from Swift’s 2006 self-titled debut, the pair said they were particularly looking forward to hearing hits from her second 2008 album Fearless.
Megan, 26, who hails from Birmingham said it was ‘amazing’ as she prepared to see the star.
She told the Evening Standard: ‘It’s amazing to be here. Taylor is such a great example of female empowerment. I love country music and that’s how I got into her.
‘I’m just so excited to be here. It was like a war to get tickets online but now I’m here it’s all worth it.’
Luna Musch, who travelled from the Netherlands added: ‘I can’t believe I’m here – I love her and her music. She is so positive. Her talent is just incredible.’
The doors at Wembley officially opened at 4.30pm, with Mette and Paramore taking to the stage from 5.45pm before Taylor at 7.30pm.
Fans dotted throughout the UK have been waiting over a year for Taylor to arrive on British shores after she began her record-breaking tour in Glendale, Arizona in March 2023.
Since she has ventured across South America, US and Asia, whilst also performing in several cities across Europe, with her NFL boyfriend Travis Kelce supporting from the crowd.
This month alone, she has already sang to packed out crowds in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff.
However, the superstar’s 100th show of her record-breaking Eras Tour last Thursday at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool didn’t quite go off without a hitch.
The international pop sensation hailed the commitment to the countless fans who braved the rain to catch a glimpse of her landmark show.
And while the 53,000 crowd packed into Anfield stadium to cheer along to her greatest hits for three hours – not everyone left completely satisfied.
Certain VIP ticketholders were left briefly disgruntled after paying to sit behind a white tent – largely blocking the view of their beloved idol.
And poor VIP seat placements weren’t the only mishap of the night as eagle-eyed fans were quick to spot the huge screen showcasing Taylor’s performance had momentarily switched off.
However, London is still overcome with Swiftmania, as a military band at Buckingham Palace performed a rendition her smash-hit Shake It Off today.
In celebration of Taylor’s arrival to London, a video titled Changing of the Guard (Taylor’s Version), was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by the Royal family’s official account.
The band stood on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace blasting trumpets, saxophones and other wind instruments, as the caption read: ‘Can’t stop, won’t stop groovin’.’
Taylor-fever has already gripped the bustling, with a host of special events taking over London, such as a Taylor trail, a special Tube map and even two new Swift-themed artworks on display at Wembley Park.