Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour phenomenon took the world by storm.

‘Swifties’ and others alike were crazily buying tickets, making outfits, trading bracelets and singing their hearts out. 

But unfortunately, it was not all glitter and sequins: disasters such a fan dying due to heat at a show, planned terrorist attacks and hyper-inflated hotel prices counteracted the ‘best night ever’ many people enjoyed. 

Personally, I believe that there were many positives, and having been to one of the eight shows at Wembley Stadium in London I found the community and welcoming atmosphere stood out from any other concert. 

For the most part, Taylor Swift and her team created one of the safest, female and child-friendly environments worldwide. 

Not only were her shows incredible, but she donated huge sums of money to food banks, single-handedly enabling one particular food bank in Cardiff to give out around 10,800 meals. 

However, an incident in Rio de Janeiro on November 17th, 2023, led to the death of 23-year-old fan Ana Clara Benevides. 

Temperatures soared at around 40 degrees Celsius and heat exhaustion caused a fan to pass out near the beginning of the show. She later died in hospital. 

There is even video footage of Taylor Swift herself struggling to breathe, given the ‘felt temperature’ was over 50 degrees Celsius at times. 

In addition, nearby to stadia she visited, hotel prices went through the roof, hugely decreasing the accessibility of the concerts. 

Finally, planned terrorist attacks in Vienna caused shows to be cancelled, tearing apart heartbroken fans’ dreams. Teenagers have since been arrested for plans to kill tens of thousands. 

The shows were scheduled for the 8th-10th of August. Taylor Swift and her team were warned about the plots and despite wanting to go ahead with extra security, the Eras Tour team and local authorities came to the agreement that it put too many lives at risk.

She later spoke out via social media showing her devastation but sadly this was little consolation for the Austrian Swifties. 

The Eras Tour was life-changing for many but heartbreaking for others.

As her tour begins to come to a close in America, perhaps we can only blame our global society for tainting a successful extravaganza with these devastating events.