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Fans in Portugal camp out 24 hours before Eras Tour show to watch Taylor Swift
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Date:2025-04-10 11:25:12
LISBON — After seeing the panic and frustration emerge Friday night at the Taylor Swift concert, Lara Madais lined up with her boyfriend Joao Almeida to camp out for Saturday night's show.
"We saw the big lines," Madais says from spot seven in the general admission line. Paramore had just begun their Friday night set and the two could hear Hayley Williams sing, "That’s What You Get" pour out of the open roof of Estádio da Luz as they sat against a concrete wall. "I've never seen so many people."
Poor communication by staff on entry gates and bottlenecked lines delayed Friday night's show about an hour. At one point, fans knocked over a barricade and began running towards the stadium hoping to not miss Swift as she took the stage for her first time in Portugal.
More:'Absolute chaos': Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in Lisbon delayed as fans waited to enter
For 24 hours, Madais and a handful of others waited outside of the stadium watching the 60,000 plus fans exit. Trains moved slower than snails. Some fans walked away from the stadium to grab an Uber or cab back to their hotels. The low cooled to 57 degrees overnight. Madais had her boyfriend to pass the time and make sure she was safe (he's not even going to the show).
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"I brought a power bank, snacks, cereal and a book," the 22 year old says. "We can watch some movies."
She paid €227 for her floor ticket ($246). To her, the cost and sleep deprivation are worth a moment to watch the record-breaking and massive Eras Tour.
"I know I won't be by the stage, but I hope to be three rows back," she says. "I just want to feel like I'm right there and she's singing to me."
Behind Madais sat Mafalda Gomes in a green sweatshirt with her suitcase containing her custom-made "Female Rage: The Musical" t-shirt.
"I'm saving a spot for my friend who is in the concert now," Gomes says. "I can't believe I'm going to see Taylor. I think I'm going to pass out because it's been my dream for like 10 years."
Gomes brought a friendship bracelet kit to pass the time. The neuropsychology student at Universidade Lusófona has been a fan since she was 12.
"I'm waiting for the surprise songs, because I hope Travis will come," she says about Swift's boyfriend Travis Kelce who filmed his Friday "New Heights" podcast from a house "over yonder" and "across many different time zones." Fans speculate on if he'll make an appearance Saturday night at the show.
Taylor Swift's next two concerts will be in Spain at the Real Madrid fútbol stadium.
Don't miss any Taylor Swift news; sign up for the free, weekly newsletter This Swift Beat.
Follow Taylor Swift reporter Bryan West on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.
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