60 extra flights and Tinder escalation – this is how Taylor Swift affects world affairs Russian propaganda in distress: Putin is looking for “journalists” for Ukraine

A woman sings and the world collapses. It is of course not just any woman, but a multiple Grammy winner and probably one of the most successful musicians of our time: Taylor Swift.

With her last tour, the 33-year-old singer has again succeeded in mobilizing her army of fans, the so-called “Swifties”. To the extent that some of them now go very far to see their idol. Here you will find everything about the tour, the strict ticket sales and especially the Crazy Swiftie stories from around the world.

This is “The Eras Tour”

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is meant to pay homage to her own “eras” by taking her fans on a journey through her various albums. You could almost speak of a nostalgic trip. No wonder the tour draws fans to the box office like flies to a lamp.

Eras was announced on November 22 and kicked off on March 17, 2023 with a concert in Glendale, Arizona. After three months of playing time, however, it is far from over: the last concert is expected to take place on August 17, 2024 (yes, 2024).

The duration is not surprising – a total of 131 concerts are scheduled in 24 countries. Watson calculated: that is a concert every 3.9 days. Happily, because the shows last about three hours. Five continents are registered. Africa remains on the sidelines, as one has come to expect from “World Tours” in the music scene.

Taylor is currently still in the US. This isn’t changing any time soon either: Swift only left the United States at the end of August, heading to Mexico and then South America. There will be a break in December before going to Asia, Australia and Europe in February.

And yes, she’s coming (finally our office bums would say) to Switzerland: on July 9th and 10th the “Shake It Off” singer will sing about us at the Letzigrund in Zurich.

Tickets for Zurich sold out after 30 minutes

You’d somehow expect the rush for tickets to be huge – after all, it’s the first Swift tour in the post-corona era. A special presale system had to stop him and the notorious black marketeers of tickets.

Fans could register for presale under certain conditions and with certain privileges. It was decided by lottery who was allowed to attend the presale. The crowds were actually huge: 14 million fans in the US, instead of the expected 1.4 million, stood in front of the virtual box office on the day of the presale. Ticketmaster, the sales platform, promptly crashed.

In Switzerland, sales worked according to the same system: fans could register until June 23 and were told on July 5 whether or not they could participate in the presale. And today was the day: at 10 a.m., the Swiss platform Ticketcorner opened its counters – and closed them again half an hour later. All tickets are gone.

Not everyone who had access to the presale received a ticket. watson fun editor Corina Mühle lost it: “I tried everything, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get tickets. Of course I’m a little sad, but I’m sure I’ll get another chance at some point.”

Others almost giggle with joy: editor-in-chief Nadine Sommerhalder managed to get hold of four tickets. Business editor Patrick Toggweiler is also one of the lucky ones with a ticket:

The emotions of our swifts are unmistakable. And they’re not alone: ​​the will and urge to get a Swift concert is being felt all over the world. And that occasionally leads to bizarre scenarios:

60 additional flights in New Zealand

For example, the New Zealand Swifties are making Australia’s Qantas Airways sweat with their Taylor hype. Since Swift does not give a concert in New Zealand itself, they simply fly to Australia to enjoy the show there in February.

Qantas has therefore organized more than 60 additional flights from NZ to ‘Straya, as reported by the New Zealand Herald. The airline thus makes more than 11,000 (!) extra seats available. In addition, Qantas offers larger aircraft such as the Airbus A330 to create more capacity for the swifties.

The flights are scheduled for February 15-27, when Taylor Swift will play in Melbourne (16th) and Sydney (26th).

Americans chased Argentine tickets

On the other side of the world, American fans hunted for Argentinian tickets. This is reported by the Spanish newspaper “El Paìs”. The reason for this is as simple as it is sad: tickets are dirt cheap in Argentina.

Argentina is notoriously plagued by mismanagement and financial crises. Inflation of more than 100 percent per year causes the value of the Argentine peso to plummet. That is why the almighty US dollar is the real currency in the land of the gauchos and asados ​​– and it is in great demand.

The exorbitant exchange rate makes it difficult for Argentinian Swift fans to get money for a ticket. The most expensive ticket on the Argentine black market costs $155 – almost a month’s wages in a country with little room for savings.

However, for American Swifties, the price does not exist. By comparison, a last-minute ticket on the American black market for Friday’s concert in Denver costs about $1,500 – in the cheapest category.

Argentinian fans are now afraid of rising prices and the Americans. Some have demanded via social media that access to the Buenos Aires concert be restricted; others call on ticket holders to leave their partners in order to leave a ticket to other fans. And still others threatened violence if they heard “foreign accents” during the concert, “el Pais” reported.

Liverpool Tinder full of Swifties

In Liverpool it is a little less serious, although the situation is likely to be very serious for British Swifties. In June 2024, the American pop star will perform at Anfield Stadium in Liverpool, the home of Liverpool FC. The presale took place on July 12. Priority registration was granted to Anfield season pass holders.

While regular sales will continue on July 18, many British Swifties are worried they won’t be able to get a ticket due to high demand. For this reason, some have resorted to drastic measures:

As the British gossip newspaper “Dailymail” reported, throngs of female Swift fans changed their location on the dating app “Tinder” to Liverpool in hopes of “matching” a single football fan with a season ticket.

As one Swift fangirl told the Dailymail, “When I see he has Eras tickets I immediately swipe right. So far I’ve had no luck. But I’d definitely match someone ugly if he took me to that. would bring the concert.”

Other Swifties take the situation a little less brazenly and with more humour: one Twitter user jokes, based on the chanting of Liverpool fans, that no fan wants to take her to the concert and so she should go alone: