The concerts that Taylor Swift will give this Wednesday and Thursday in Madrid are shaking up the capital. What if the streets will be closed, What if the surrounding schools have had to modify their entry times?, what if hotels and tickets have tripled in price, what if celebrities like Ryan Reynolds or the Obamas arrive. The epicenter of this earthquake is around the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, headquarters in Spain of the most lucrative musical tour in history. Already in the subway station you see people with bags with the name of the artist. On the street, about 200 people enter and leave the official store of merchandising which opened this Tuesday and a few meters further north, on Paseo de la Castellana, are the first to queue to enter, no more than 20 fans barricaded since the morning.
“Many people follow Taylor because of her lyrics, they are like stories she tells you and they help you a lot,” says Lucía, 17, who is standing in line with her friend of the same age to buy t-shirts, sweatshirts, posters or bracelets. . Each one wears around 10 bracelets distributed on both hands, threads adorned with plastic pearls with the name of a song or lyric from the singer that are exchanged between her followers. A few places further back are Laura Marcos and Lucía Adrados, 20 and 21 years old. They also attribute her success – the most listened to artist in 2023 on iTunes and Spotify – to how they can interpret what her songs say: “The meaning of her songs is like a poem. For anyone she has a song, for the ex, the boyfriend, the friend.”
Around 130,000 people will attend the concerts at the Bernabeú between Wednesday and Thursday. About half are from outside Madrid and 22% are foreigners. From the latter group are Grace Chainer and her 10-year-old daughter, Charlotte, who have arrived from Manchester. “She is a girl who has many values,” says her mother, aligned with the fervor of her daughter. Mar Zaitonn also arrives from abroad, from Iceland, to accompany her daughter. They will repeat in July, when SWfit arrives in Milan: “I think he receives all this love because he respects his fans a lot.”
The swifties, As the artist’s followers call themselves, they perceive their heroine as a humble, simple person, with a “vibe that transmits something to you.” This is how the Dutch Cristina Mainsfield (34 years old) and The Hotel Business Association of Madrid (AEHM) estimates that hotel income on Wednesday and Thursday nights will be close to 20 million euros, with average rates that could triple or quadruple normal prices.
A few streets further north of the stadium, when the hubbub between fans, tourists and the construction of the field has subsided, the first ones who have started to queue for Wednesday’s concert appear. About 10 people are arranged at the entrance to the VIP area and another five, about 200 meters further, for the Track sector. With their sun loungers, travel backpacks and snacks, They have become a kind of celebrities that the media lines up to interview. Some, already tired, do not want to talk anymore. This is not the case of Alejandro Cantillo, 22, who conveys his emotion: “I am fulfilling a dream. “His music is a diary of life.” He has been there since Monday and tonight he is waiting for a friend to take over so he can return on Wednesday with a outfit that he has sewn himself, another ritual between swifties.
Maggie Santander (26 years old) says she was the first to arrive. She has been queuing since Monday “very early.” “I have to be in front, I’m short, I’m 1.57″ tall. Her organization has placed her under a tree that provides shade and protects her from the 28 degrees that reach midday. She assures that she is taking it “calmly” and that it will not be the last time she does this. “I’ve been spending time making bracelets and doing interviews.”
with the tour The Eras TourTaylor Swift has been traveling for 14 months through twenty countries on four continents in a Show which has raised more than 1,039 million euros, according to Pollstar. Last April he released his new album, The Tortured Poets Departmentwhich has become the best-selling album of the decade.
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