Taylor Swift will return to the U.K. stage during her record-breaking Eras Tour on Thursday, resuming her Wembley shows. However, those without tickets will be not as lucky as they previously were.
The last week has been very difficult for Swifties, and undoubtedly for Taylor Swift herself. She’s about to embark on the last stop and final five shows on the European leg of her Eras Tour, which come in the aftermath of the terrorist plot planned for her shows in Vienna, Austria. Swift was supposed to perform for three nights at Ernst Happel Stadium, but eventually canceled all shows. Swift has been undercover since. Fans who had tickets to the show were left devastated and found solace in one another, happy they that nothing worse had happened.
While the five shows at Wembley in London, U.K., will go on as normal, there are some things fans need to know.
Taygating is no longer allowed at Wembley
Throughout the entirety of the Eras Tour, fans who couldn’t get tickets gathered outside the stadium, leading to the term “Taygating.” Dublin, Ireland, and Munich, Germany, were particularly memorable taygating stops. However, Taygating will not be allowed at the upcoming Wembley shows due to security reasons.
“To support the safe entry and exit of everyone within the stadium, no one is allowed to stand outside any entrance or on the Olympic Steps at the front of the stadium,” notes the venue’s website. “Non-ticket holders will be moved on.” Fans who do have tickets should note that, for security reasons, some sections and seats have been updated, as well as the start times.
Of course, these Taygating rules were already in place ahead of the Vienna terrorist plot, but now they will be strictly enforced. One thing to note here, Swifties: Wembley Stadium has amazing sound insulation, so it’s time for a short storytime to help you feel a little better about not being able to Taygate.
The Eras Tour has the absolute best sound I’ve ever heard, but at the same time, Wembley’s sound insulation keeps it all in-venue, with no riffs or roars escaping to the world outside. For Swift’s Night 2 at Wembley in June, I had also decided to Taygate, but I scored a ticket in the meantime and arrived halfway through the concert, right as she finished the Reputation era. As you know, the songs in the Reputation era, “Look What You Made Me Do” and “Don’t Blame Me” are loud and exciting, but you couldn’t hear anything whatsoever from outside the stadium. Especially on the Olympic Steps. Fans who gathered to Taygate on the Olympic Steps couldn’t hear the concert at all, only low sounds now and then as if they were far away. So don’t be sad, would-be Taygaters of Wembley, you won’t be missing anything.
While London and Wembley have enforced security and chances for something bad happening are very low, it’s important to follow the recent rules. With no Taygating available, fans will be safer enjoying the show on the grainy live streams. And you could barely hear her anyway, unlike the shows in Munich, where intrepid fans watched the entire concert from a nearby hill.