British fans wonder if Taylor Swift will say “Bye, London” after the Eras tour

LONDON (AP) — Taylor Swift fans are enjoying the Lyrics by singer-songwriters for clues about her love life and insights into her mental state.

But the pop superstar’s fans in Britain didn’t have to listen closely latest album“The Tortured Poets Department” to get the feeling that Swift was fed up with the country’s capital after it had long been a regular hangout and then her second home. The fifth track on the record is titled “Bye, London.”

When Swift brings her Blockbuster Eras Tour at London’s Wembley Stadium, some Swifties are wondering if they are witnessing the beginning of a longer farewell. She will perform three nights starting Friday and is scheduled to return to Wembley for six nights in August to perform the European part of the tour.

London is the only city on the tour where Swift will stop twice. Some fear the arrangement could be a swan song of sorts, while others say it simply reflects a new era in Swift’s connection to the big city. Whether “So Long, London” turns out to be the final chapter or the conclusion of her love affair with the city, the song “London Boy,” Eras, will be an emotional milestone.

“Her relationship now kind of assumes that London is not going to be where she’s going to be. It’s not like an American football player lives here,” said Maggie Fekete, 22, a Canadian graduate student who credits the London references in Swift’s music as a guide when she moved to the city three years ago. “I think there’s going to be a lot less London in her music, which is sad.”

For those who haven’t been paying attention, Swift has had a number of romances with famous British citizens, starting with Harry Styles in 2012 and ending last year when she began dating the Kansas City Chiefs tight end. Travis KelceThe speculation about “So Long, London” and a sad accompanying song that mentions a London pub“The Black Dog” follows the 2023 split of Swift and English actor Joe Alwyn, who were together for over six years.

Alwyn is said to have inspired “London Boy,” a song from her 2019 album “Lover.” A special edition of the “Lover” CD apparently included a January 2017 diary entry in which Swift talked about “living mostly in London” but trying to keep a low profile. British tabloids later reported that Swift spent much of the COVID-19 pandemic sheltering at Alwyn’s home in north London.

The Sun newspaper reported in December that the multiple Grammy winner had bought a large estate in the area and was turning it into her European base. However, after Swift released “The Tortured Poets Department” last month, a writer for the British edition of ELLE magazine noted that Londoners had an opportunity “for an all-American A-lister to take her place in our collective consciousness.”

“We had Swift before we lost her to her record-breaking, box office-smashing ‘Eras’ tour, and now her vacancy seems to have been filled by Zendaya”, author Naomi May jokingly asked the question before listing the various places where the American actress has been seen with her longtime boyfriend, British actor Tom Holland.

Either way, the capital is putting on quite a show to make Swift and her fans feel appreciated. Tour guides are offering walking, bus and taxi tours that retrace Swift’s footsteps, including a visit to a kebab shop whose owner says his shop is supplying the singer and her crew with sandwiches on Friday.

Through the end of August, Swifties can take part in an extensive program of Swift-themed brunches and dance parties, or ride the London Eye while a string instrument plays their music. Souvenir stalls in Camden Market, one of the locations mentioned in “London Boy,” have stocked up on Swift-specific hats, T-shirts, bags and stickers in preparation.

“We are very proud that London is hosting more shows on Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour than any other city, a true testament to her love for London,” said Laura Citron, CEO of tourism agency London & Partners.

Fans lined up outside Wembley on Thursday, hoping to be among the first ticket holders to secure a spot in the standing area near the stage. A pop-up shop selling tour merchandise opened in a car park next to the stadium the same morning.

Zachary Hourihane, who co-hosts a Swift podcast called “Evolution of a Snake” and posts YouTube and TikTok videos under the name Swiftologist, said it’s too early to know whether the singer will keep her honorary citizenship or part ways with London. As her fans know all too well, with Taylor, only time will tell.

Hourihane notes that after a difficult year in which she was Winning Album of the Year at the 2016 Grammy Awards for “1989” to the collapse of her popularity in the midst of a public feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. His examination of her life in England reveals that the happy memories she created there are mixed with “a sense of isolation.”

“There’s a lot of nostalgia that may have turned into regret,” Hourihane said. “She felt trapped there for a while.”

Fast forward multiple friends, 10 albums (including the Taylor’s version re-recorded ) and the Eras tour, and it’s no surprise that her life is now under scrutiny. Hourihane suspects that Swift is “not quite ready to give up London” for practical and artistic reasons.

“Taylor is someone who often looks back at the past. It’s never over with her. She likes to relive things that are over,” he said. “Let’s be realistic. Even though her relationship is ‘goodbye, goodbye,’ she has good reasons to be in London and to make good money there.”