Wembley Stadium has gifted Taylor Swift a special guitar to mark her record-breaking number of performances at the iconic north London venue.
It’s a beautiful Gibson acoustic guitar in pastel blue and black with the words “Bye Taylor, it was a Wembley love story” engraved on the body. They shared the news on social media last week, capping off the post with the words “Bye Taylor, it was adorable.” Sweet.
In recognition of her becoming the first solo artist to play Wembley Stadium eight times on a single tour, we gifted Taylor Swift her own personalized Wembley guitar. Farewell Taylor. It was adorable 💖#LondonTSTheErasTour pic.twitter.com/FJv3Pfr3sy23 August 2024
The gift is a tribute to Swift, who became the first solo artist to play Wembley eight times during a tour, breaking a record set by Michael Jackson four decades ago.
A Wembley spokesperson said: “We were delighted to host eight of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour shows at Wembley Stadium. Her fans brought a wave of colour and generosity like never before. The whole Wembley team, from security to reception, looked after her so well.”
“We couldn’t let Taylor leave London without saying a huge thank you and celebrating this incredible achievement by a solo artist.”
The British leg of the star’s Eras Tour was record-breaking in many ways, playing to nearly 1.2 million people and bringing an estimated one (and much-needed) billion pounds into the British economy. During the Edinburgh gig, geophysicists even recorded seismic activity – dancing fans had shifted the ground by about 23.4 nanometers.
The economic impact was not insignificant. On average, each of those 1.2 million ticket holders spent £848 on tickets, travel, accommodation, food and outfits, more than 12 times the cost of an average night out. Many hotels, pubs and restaurants in cities where the Eras tour has been are hoping she won’t wait long to return.
Liberal Democrat members even proposed giving Swift an honorary citizenship of the City of London, both for her contribution to the local economy – around £300 million in the British capital – and for her philanthropic work, which she did by donating to food banks in all the British cities in which she played.
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In an interview with Metro, Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrats’ Treasury spokeswoman, described Swift as a “protester of endless charity, using her platform to push for reform in the music industry… Taylor Swift is now on track to achieve her most impressive feat yet: filling some of the gap left in the British economy by the Conservative government after years of neglect.”
The idea is not so far-fetched. Ed Sheeran was given the honour, as were footballers Harry Kane and Ian Wright.
