As Taylor Swift kicked off the long-awaited London leg of her Eras tour on Friday night (21 June) at Wembley Stadium, fans waited eagerly to find out which surprise songs she had chosen for the capital.
Although much of her 45-song set list remains the same across the tour, Swift does alter the “Acoustic Section” of her set, which features two surprise songs that she selects from her back catalogue.
Much of the time, these tracks are chosen based on where she is performing that night. In May, for example, Swift played her 2022 track “Paris” in the French capital. Likewise, performing in London for the first of eight nights on Friday (21 June), Swift played a medley of: “Hits Different”, “Death By A Thousand Cuts”, “Come Back Here”, “Maroon”, and for the first time live, “The Black Dog”.
The latter is widely believed to be based on her brief dalliance with Matty Healy, frontman of the British band The 1975, and includes references to a pub of the same name in Vauxhall, south London.
London, which is predicted to see a £300m boost in the economy courtesy of the Eras tour, welcomed the 14-time Grammy winner with a special performance of her 2014 hit “Shake It Off” during the Changing of the Guards outside Buckingham Palace while Transport for London reimagined the London Tube map to make it Swift-themed, and Wembley Stadium had its steps painted with a Swift mural and temporarily named the “Swiftie steps”.
As the Eras Tour continues for seven more London shows (a total of three in June and five in August), here’s everything you need to know, including all of the VIP guests so far and the most up-to-date set list.
The starry guest list
So far on the tour, Swift has been in good company with many A-listers flocking to see her London dates.
On Saturday night’s show, which marked Swift’s second night in London, Tom Cruise, Hugh Grant, Barbie director Greta Gerwig and Hollywood couple Ashton Kutcher were all spotted in a sectioned-off area of the stadium.
For the opening night of her London leg on 21 June, Swift’s VIP guests included her NFL star boyfriend Travis Kelce, Bridgerton lead Nicola Coughlan, Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness, and Cara Delevigne.
The Prince of Wales was also in attendance to celebrate his 42nd birthday alongside Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six. Later, a video emerged on TikTok showing the Prince of Wales dancing along to “Shake It Off” from a box, while the singer shared a selfie posing with the royals and her boyfriend Kelce, captioning the post: “Happy Bday M8!” alongside emojis for the GB and US flags, as well as a handshake emoji.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer snapped a photograph of himself and his wife, Victoria, in the 88-000-strong crowd.
The three-and-a-half-hour-long set list
Lover
- “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince”
- “Cruel Summer”
- “The Man
- “You Need to Calm Down”
- “Lover”
Fearless
- “Fearless”
- “You Belong With Me”
- “Love Story”
Red
- “22”
- “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
- “I Knew You Were Trouble”
- “All Too Well (10-minute version)”
Speak Now
- “Enchanted”
Reputation
- “… Ready For It?”
- “Delicate”
- “Don’t Blame Me”
- “Look What You Made Me Do”
Folklore/Evermore
- “cardigan”
- “betty”
- “champagne problems”
- “august”
- “illicit affairs”
- “my tears ricochet”
- “Marjorie”
- “willow”
1989
- “Style”
- “Blank Space”
- “Shake It Off”
- “Wildest Dreams”
- “Bad Blood”
The Tortured Poets Department
- “But Daddy I Love Him”
- “So High School”
- “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”
- “Down Bad”
- “Fortnight”
- “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”
- “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart”
Midnights
- “Lavender Haze”
- “Anti-Hero”
- “Midnight Rain”
- “Vigilante Shit”
- “Bejeweled”
- “Mastermind”
- “Karma”
Surprise songs (based on first night in London)
- “The Black Dog”
- “Hits Different” ( from Midnights)
- “Death By A Thousand Cuts” (from Lover)
- Maroon”/“Come Back... Be Here” (From Midnights and Red).
You can read The Independent’s five-star review of Swift’s first UK show in Edinburgh here.
