CELEBRITY
Is Britain ready for Taylor Swift’s Swarovski encrusted juggernaut? Highest grossing tour in pop history rolls in on a wave of hysteria as superstar catches up with Emma Stone, hunky lover Travis Kelce… and even her mum and dad are along for the ride!
Brace yourself as Taylor Swift’s all-conquering Eras tour — a Swarovski-encrusted juggernaut — thunders into the UK next week.
With private jets, a bevy of bodyguards, a rider specifying chocolate milk and a daily Starbucks at 11am sharp, plus a travelling circus of dancers, singers, musicians and crew — not to mention a beefy American football-playing boyfriend — there’s nothing quite like Taylor, 34, on tour.
And it’s said that the 15 dates, including an unprecedented eight sell-out nights at Wembley Stadium, will bring a £1billion boost to the UK economy.
Alison Boshoff delves behind the scenes of the biggest, sparkliest phenomenon in showbusiness, and the gargantuan effort it takes to bring her record-breaking show to our shores.
A star of Taylor’s magnitude wouldn’t travel in anything but a private jet, and there are two Dassault Falcon aircrafts at her disposal, each worth around £30million and with room for 12 passengers. Taylor’s brother Austin, 32, an actor and producer who has worked with his sister, often hops on one plane.
There’s little sibling rivalry here: the pair are incredibly close and she’s described him as ‘one of my best pals’.
Taylor, meanwhile, flies with her long-time manager Robert Allen, publicist Tree Paine and road manager Erica Worden. It’s almost certain that her boyfriend of nearly a year — Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce — will be on her plane too as he’s indicated he is coming along for this part of the two-year tour, saying: ‘Oh, you know I gotta go support.’
He added: ‘I think she’s at Wembley eight times. Which is mind-blowing that she can do that many shows in one stadium and fill that thing up.’
Her famously supportive parents Andrea and Scott, who both worked in finance, may also be there as they’ve been spotted at other gigs on the Eras tour. They raised Taylor and Austin on a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania before moving to the Nashville suburbs when she landed her first record deal aged 14.
While Taylor’s tour may be a money-spinner, her private jet habit comes at a high cost to the environment.