Dublin gearing up for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour arrival after Liverpool turned into 'Taylor Town'

Irish Swifties are gearing up for the arrival of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour as independent fan events are selling out fast ahead of her three Irish dates.

The Alternative Dublin group have arranged a series of fan events such as friendship bracelet-making, quizzes and art sessions across various locations over the next three weekends, under the banner of SwiftFest24.

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And while Liverpool's council transformed the city into 'Taylor Town' to make hay while the pop superstar was in town over the last three nights, Dublin City Council continueed to drag its feet on welcoming 'Swifties' to the capital.

Taylor Swift performs on stage during during "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour" at Anfield on June 13, 2024 in Liverpool, England. Pic: Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

Dublin City Council would only commit to 'activations' that 'will complement the music genre associated with Taylor Swift' when asked again by the Irish Mail on Sunday this week.

A senior Dublin City Council (DCC) source cited licensing issues as a reason not to put on fan events when pressed on the matter two weeks ago.

However, events co-ordinator with Alternative Dublin Alice Kelly described this excuse as 'a cop out'.

Ms Kelly pointed out that Swift herself reposts content relating to 'Swiftogeddon' events - an unofficial club night playing entirely her music, of which there will be no fewer than eight as part of the Dublin fan festival. She said that even if Swift was inclined towards legal action there is no danger 'if you're careful about it. We're not using her face or her full name - stuff like that.'

Ms Kelly, who has tickets for two of the Aviva shows, said 'most' of the tickets sold for the fan festival events are individual ones.

Taylor Swift performs on stage during during Taylor Swift The Eras Tour at Anfield on June 13, 2024 in Liverpool, England. Pic: Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

She told the MoS: 'Obviously, some people are buying them to go with their friends. But that's our whole thing with our events - to bring people together and do things that don't just involve going out for drinks.'

And the events cater for fans who haven't secured tickets - which are 'like gold dust' - for any of the concerts.

Ms Kelly said: 'A lot of fans haven't got them, but they still want to partake in her being in the country. A lot of other countries have done huge things for her coming but obviously there's just not really anything here, so we wanted to take advantage of that.

'It's a great way to make friends as well. We encourage people to swap the friendship bracelets after the events.'

Taylor Swift performs on stage during The Eras Tour at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on May 29, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. Pic: Xavi Torrent/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

She said DCC's failure to capitalise on the concerts is 'a huge missed opportunity'.

'There's a huge sense of community with someone like Taylor Swift because she's got such a cult fan base. And if everyone can't get tickets to that, we may as well have some sort of fanzone or something to bring people together.

'I know a good few people from outside the county who are still looking for tickets and a lot of them are going to come here anyway. Even just to stand outside. I've seen videos from the European dates and there's thousands outside the stadiums.'

Taylor Swift performs onstage during The Eras Tour at La Defense on May 09, 2024 in Paris, France. Pic: Kevin Mazur/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

Asked about its plans to mark Swiftmania, previously teased as 'something small and quirky', a spokeswoman for DCC said: 'The Taylor Swift concerts are only one of a number of major events already occurring in Dublin City over the weekend of June 28/29, 2024. DCC has not planned any other major events in the city over that weekend.'

Dublin-based superfan Claire O'Malley, originally from Ohio in the US, told the MoS: 'I have a friend coming from the States and then another from Sweden and we're going to have a little reunion and go on a little tour of the country.'

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