‘The Eras Tour’
6 million tickets have been sold for The Eras Tour by Taylor Swift. Ticket prices go up to 776 euros, she gives 152 shows on 5 continents. Belgium is not included, but there are 18 other locations in Europe. Paris kicks off the European tour on Thursday. Her fans, who go through life as Swifties, are counting down.
Superfan Mike still has to wait until June 8 in Edinburgh, Scotland, before he comes face to face with his biggest idol: the American phenomenon Taylor Swift (34). “I am without a doubt the biggest Swiftie in Limburg and beyond. Am I in love with Taylor Swift? No,” he laughs. “I am in love with her music and her way of performing. Call it a far-reaching fascination. I have been happily with my girlfriend for fourteen years and she makes her peace with it.”
“I am also a KRC Genk fan. One minute I’m shouting at the football, a few days later I’m crying at Taylor Swift.”
Mike
Swiftie
“Taylor stirs something up, she evokes emotions,” Mike explains. “I am also a KRC Genk fan. One minute I’m shouting at the football, a few days later I’m crying at Taylor Swift. My friends will never understand.”
© Bart Borgerhoff
Tattoo
Mike has been a fan since 2016. “In 2018 I went to Manchester Reputation Tour been: twice,” he says. “On the second night I managed to get within one and a half meters of Taylor through the crowd. I really wanted a tattoo: her portrait on my arm, but I didn’t dare say it to my girlfriend. When she gave her approval, I flew to Birmingham to see a tattoo artist specializing in portraits. After twelve hours it was still not finished. I have flown up and down several times in five or six years. It cost me 7,000 euros: 5,000 euros for the tattoo, the rest is travel costs.”
“I hoped to one day really reach Taylor with my tattoo. Now that she has grown so big, I have put that dream aside”
Mike
Swiftie
Being a Swiftie costs money. “I paid 400 euros for the concert ticket, which is not too bad,” says Mike. “I won the tickets for Amsterdam through Qmusic. Travel costs amount to over 1,000 euros. But if I had to pay 1,000 euros for a ticket, I would have done it. I’ve created a piggy bank especially for Taylor Swift. I also have more than seventy vinyls: all her albums in various editions. These also cost money.”
© Bart Borgerhoff
Freak
Mike is not your average Swiftie. “A lot of women are fans, and most of the fans are younger,” he says. “I get a lot of reactions to my tattoo: positive and negative. People think it’s admirable, others think I’m a freak. I hoped to one day really get to Taylor with my tattoo. Now that she has grown so big, I have put that dream aside. In Scotland I will go alone: then I will try to get close to her again. For the other concerts I let it depend on the group. A friend will come with me in Amsterdam, and my colleagues in Milan. We are going to Vienna with a group of Belgian Swifties, whom I only know through Facebook.”
© Bart Borgerhoff
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