I went to see Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium and I’m still not over the excitement- review and setlist

Having only secured tickets earlier that week (after a friend miraculously bought them through resale) I had little time to prepare but boy was I excited!

One last minute trip to Claire’s Accessories to buy the last remaining friendship bracelets, face gems and body glitter, while frantically revising the Eras tour setlist on Spotify, we were ready for Wembley.

Getting to Wembley Stadium

I loved every moment of the day, EVEN getting the Tube to Wembley Park. It was incredibly sweet to see the amount of effort fans had put into their outfits and hearing people’s stories.

On my journey on the Jubilee line I saw a lot of girls in their 20s going with their Mums, I met a group of girls who had travelled from the US and saw lots of obliging Dads bringing their young kids.

The only stressful part of the day was arriving at Wembley Park to find there was limited reception so finding my friends was a challenge. 

Having read so many horror stories of queues etc we were delightfully surprised at how easy it was to get into Wembley stadium to find our seats. Drinks were also surprisingly not as expensive as I thought (£7.85 for a 440ml can of Stella Artois) and (£8 for a 250 ml can of Absolut vodka Sprite) so happy days!

Paramore

We arrived in good time to see Paramore’s whole set which was phenomenal. 

Lead singer Hayley Williams looked like the ultimate rock chick in a pair of tiny metallic shorts, an off shoulder white top and black boots. In fact the entire band is possibly collectively the most attractive group of humans I have ever seen!

Williams commanded the crowd with graceful charm and delivered a number of fan favourites including “The Only Exception” and “Still into You”.

Being aware of her supporting act status, Williams encouraged new fans to get involved and won over the crowd with her nine-song set.

Taylor Swift

A nervous and anticipating energy filled the stadium at around 7.15pm as we knew what was coming. My heart was in my chest when a giant countdown clock appeared on the screen counting down Swift’s entrance.

I felt like I was having an out of body experience when a parade of orange and purple feather clad dancers marched down the catwalk into the centre of stage. Then came a familiar voice singing “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” and she appeared like magic!

Having seen so many videos and photos of her in that exact same blue and gold sequined leotard and sparkling boots it was hard to believe that she was in fact real and I was really seeing her in the flesh.

I was overcome with a tizzy of excitement and euphoria as she launched into her incredibly polished and stunning three and a half hour set, which spanned all the eras of her illustrious career.

Era-by-era

Swift kicked off her Eras tour with her album Lover. Hits included “Cruel Summer”, “The Man”, “You Need to Calm Down” and of course the title song “Lover”.

To mark the start of her Wembley gigs Swift shared her joy to be back in London recalling her first gig in the capital at the student union of King's College London.

“Of all the places to be on a Friday night during the summer in London you’ve chosen to be here with me,” she exclaimed, as though it wasn’t the hottest ticket in town.

It was remarkable to see the slickness of the performance, the swift transitions and the even speedier costume changes.

I swear to God it only took her three to five minutes for each costume change which made me panic about the prospect of ever being able to nip out to the toilet for the entire gig!

Each era had a completely different look, sound, set of costumes and stage design and the transitions were seamless.

Her Red era was an energetic, pop set with nostalgic hits like “22”,, “We are Never Getting Back Together”, “I Knew You Were Trouble”. This was followed by a 10 minute version of “All Too Well”.

For folklore/evermore Swift sits on top of a mossy cabin clad in a long red dress. Performing on a moss covered piano she sings a selection of hits from this era including “cardigan”, “champagne problems”, “marjorie” and “willow”.

It was incredible to see her transition from fast-paced dance numbers to her slower folk moments. This demonstrates Swift’s sheer range and extent of her talent.

The Tortured Poets Department section is like a full theatrical production, which sees Swift reawakened from a slumber surrounded by her dancers performing as mime artists. This section culminates in an all powerful performance of “I Can Do it With a Broken Heart”.

There was a lot of excitement for the “surprise song” section in which she performed a mashup of “Hits Different” and “Death By A Thousand Cuts” and her first ever live performance of “The Black Dog”, which references a pub in Vauxhall.

As night fell on Wembley Stadium, Swift performed the Midnights era for her final section of the show. Each audience member was given a wristband with a light on arrival and it was incredible to see the entire stadium lit up by thousands of lights.

Swift performs a selection of hits from this era including “Bejeweled” which sees her and her dancers sparkling like jewels. She ends the show with “Karma” and includes a shout out to her boyfriend Travis Kelce singing "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs".

It is safe to say witnessing the Eras Tour has definitely been the highlight of my year so far. To experience the high of a concert like Taylor Swift is a sheer privilege; it's difficult to come back down to earth again.

To think that she had already performed 103 shows in 36 cities before arriving at Wembley is astounding as the sheer energy and enthusiasm she brings it feels like it's her first.

Leaving the stadium that night I knew I had witnessed something extraordinary and a moment in history. All hail Taylor Swift!

Eras tour at Wembley stadium setlist for June 21

Lover

• Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince
• Cruel Summer
• The Man
• You Need to Calm Down
• Lover

Fearless

• Fearless
• You Belong With Me
• Love Story

Red

• Red
• 22
• We Are Never Getting Back Together
• I Knew You Were Trouble
• All Too Well

Speak Now

• Speak Now
• Enchanted

Reputation

• ..Ready for it?
• Delicate
• Don’t Blame Me
• Look What You Made Me Do

folklore/evermore

• Cardigan
• Betty
• Champagne Problems
• August
• Illicit affairs
• My tears ricochet
• Marjorie
• Willow

1989

• Style
• Blank Space
• Shake it off
• Wildest Dreams
• Bad Blood

The Tortured Poets Department

• Female Rage: The Musical
• But Daddy I Love Him/ So High School
• Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?
• Down Bad
• Fortnight
• The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
• I Can Do It With a Broken Heart

Surprise songs

• Hits Different/ Death by a Thousand Cuts
• The Black Dog

Midnights

• Lavender Haze
• Play Video
• Anti‐Hero
• Play Video
• Midnight Rain
• Play Video
• Vigilante Shit
• Play Video
• Bejeweled
• Play Video
• Mastermind
• Play Video
• Karma