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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Robert Dex, Arts Correspondent and Lisa McLoughlin

Taylor Swift joined by Ed Sheeran as she wows Wembley on her return to London amid heightened security

Taylor Swift wowed Wembley on her return to the capital and was joined on stage by special guest Ed Sheeran.

The US hitmaker performed one verse of Everything Has Changed, which features Sheeran, before bringing out the Suffolk singer to rapturous applause from the crowd.

They blended the song with End Game, which they also collaborated on, and 33-year-old Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud, which appeared to mark the arrival of her “surprise songs”.

The 34-year-old changes the surprise songs each show during her record-breaking Eras Tour.

She did not mention her shows in Austria being cancelled over an alleged terror plot, or the stabbings at a Swift-themed yoga event.

At the Capital FM Summertime Ball in 2013 at Wembley Stadium, Sheeran also joined Swift on stage as they performed Everything Has Changed.

He has previously performed on her The Red Tour, which ran from 2013 to 2014, and in 2022 he re-released The Joker And The Queen as a duet with Swift.

On stage, she said he was “like a second brother to me”, and talked about how his career has taken off, saying: “He plays Wembley like every week. This is like regular for him.

“And he’s worked so hard and he’s probably so tired but he wanted to come and play for you, so give it up for him.”

As Sheeran left the stage, Swift said: “I had such a good time, did you have a good time?”.

She then played Reputation’s King Of My Heart blended with The Tortured Poets Department’s The Alchemy, which is believed to be a reference to her partner and NFL star Travis Kelce, as the second surprise song.

The US singer went through several costume changes and at one point wore a T-Shirt reading there is “a lot going on at the moment” as she took to the stage after her three shows in Vienna were cancelled due to an alleged terror plot.

Swift on stage at Wembley (Getty Images)

Earlier, Swift had come out during 22 wearing a T-shirt that said there is “a lot going on at the moment”.

It comes as Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna called off all three dates of Swift’s shows last week over alleged plans by suspected terrorists to attack fans outside the venue.

She regularly wears T-shirts during 22 that are picked over by fans. In the middle of the song, she embraced a young blonde girl wearing a light blue jumper, and gave her a black hat.

While singing Enchanted, Taylor Swift wore a gradient-effect purple dress, with the lightest shade at the top and darkest at the bottom.

For her 1989 set, she wore a pink top and green skirt while for her Folklore and Evermore set she opted for a moss green number.

It comes after Austria’s Ernst Happel Stadium called off all dates over alleged plans by suspected terrorists to attack fans outside the venue.

Before the Wembley Stadium concert got under way, Metropolitan Police commander Lou Puddefoot said officers were “well prepared” ahead of her five dates in London.

Swift duetted with Sheeran on Everything Has Changed. She performed one verse on her own before bringing out her fellow singer to rapturous applause from the crowd.

They blended the song with End Game and Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud.

With her arm around Sheeran on stage, Swift said: “This is someone who is like a second brother to me.”

She reflected on the time they spent working together, adding: “And now he plays Wembley like every week. This is like regular for him.

“And he’s worked so hard and he’s probably so tired but he wanted to come and play for you, so give it up for him.”

As Sheeran left the stage, Swift said: “I had such a good time, did you have a good time?”

Taylor Swift fans pose in front of a mural of the star at Wembley (AP)

Swift then played King Of My Heart blended with The Alchemy as the second surprise song.

Swift typically ends her Eras performances with different surprise songs every show.

Last month, the Grammy-winner paid tribute to the victims of the Southport attack in which three young girls were killed in a mass stabbing at a holiday club event themed on the singer.

She did not mention her cancelled shows in Vienna, nor the murder of three children in Southport during her show.

The BBC reported Swift has privately contacted families affected by the Southport stabbings.

As Swift performed the first of five nights at Wembley, which will bring the European leg of her Eras Tour to an end, celebrities including Luther actor Idris Elba, Keith Richards’ granddaughter Ella Richards, and Jameela Jamil were spotted in the VIP area.

Fans show off their friendship bracelets at Wembley Stadium (REUTERS)

Security outside Wembley has been heightened, with hundreds of guards surrounding the venue and managing fans entering.

But the elevated security did not dampen the spirits of fans, who made and shared friendship bracelets as they waited for their idol.

The stadium put out a warning to ticketless supporters ahead of the concert, saying they would be unable to congregate outside the stadium, thwarting an often common practice among the singer’s fans known as “tay-gating”.

Swift’s billion-dollar Eras Tour takes fans through her back catalogue, including hits from albums 1989, Red and Midnights.

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