Music
Taylor Swift Made History At The Final European Show Of The Eras Tour
On Tuesday night, she broke a 35-year record set by Michael Jackson.
On Aug. 20, Taylor Swift made history, again. She became the first solo artist to play eight shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in a single tour, breaking Michael Jackson’s 1988 record, when he performed at the venue seven times as part of his Bad Tour.
“You just made me the first solo artist to ever play Wembley eight times in a single tour,” Swift said to the crowd on Tuesday night, crediting her Eras Tour audiences for making it happen. “We will never, ever be able to thank you enough for it.”
The singer played three shows at Wembley Stadium back in June, before returning for a five-night leg from Aug. 15–20, which marked the end of the European part of the Eras Tour.
To celebrate, she brought out two special guests: Florence Welch, who joined her to perform “Florida!!!” for the first time, and producer Jack Antonoff, who accompanied her on an acoustic mash-up of “Death By a Thousand Cuts” and “Getaway Car.”
In an Instagram post the next day, Aug. 21, she reflected on the U.K. performances. “London felt like a beautiful dream sequence. All five crowds at Wembley Stadium were bursting with passion, joy, and exuberance,” she wrote in an extended caption. “The energy in that stadium was like the most giant bear hug from 92,000 people each night.”
Setting Records From The Beginning
Swift’s accomplishment is the latest in a long list of records she’s broken. The Eras Tour made history on its very first night, after all. On March 17, 2023, her opening performance in Glendale, Arizona, was the highest-attended concert by a female artist in the United States, with 69,000 tickets sold.
Naturally, she continued to top that number throughout the year, shattering several stadium attendance records both in the United States and overseas.
While Swift has yet to release any official numbers regarding its financial successes, the Eras Tour was estimated to have grossed more than $1 billion by the end of 2023, making it the first tour to pass that benchmark. As a result, Guinness World Records declared it the highest-grossing tour of all time. By the time it ends in December 2024, Variety estimates that the Eras Tour could surpass $2 billion.
Swift is set to resume the Eras Tour on Oct. 18 in Miami, and will play 18 more shows across five cities in the United States and Canada before the tour wraps on Dec. 8 in Vancouver.
