Seismologists follow Taylor Swift concerts in Dublin

Taylor Swift shook Ireland last month with her three Eras Tour concerts in Dublin – literally.

According to Eleanor Dunn, a seismologist at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), Swift’s performance of “Love Story” turned out to be the song with the most energy and seismic activity.

Meanwhile, about 100 km away in County Wexford, unexpected activity of Swift’s “Shake It Off” was detected.

Overall, the first night of Swift’s three concerts on the “Eras Tour” in Dublin was characterized by the highest activity, but the following two evenings were in no way inferior.

Dunn launched the #SwiftQuakeDublin campaign before Taylor Swift landed in Ireland for her three sold-out Eras Tour concerts.

Ahead of the three concerts, DIAS explained that lead researcher Eleanor Dunn had installed three different types of seismometers around the Aviva: Raspberry Shakes, ‘SmartSolos’ and ‘le-3Dlites’, thanks to local residents and businesses who had agreed to have seismometers placed on their properties over the past few weeks.

The 21 different seismometers measured ground vibrations of varying intensity.

Speaking ahead of the concerts, Dunn said: “Through my research I hope to make more people aware of seismicity, that it is more than just earthquakes, and that seismicity occurs every day in Ireland through activities such as traffic, construction work and concerts.

“Earthquakes in Ireland are usually so small that we don’t feel them, but here they happen.

“It is important to note, however, that the seismic activity generated during the concert will not cause any earthquakes or pose any danger to fans in or around the stadium!”

Dunn urged concertgoers to get involved by sharing their concert videos on social media with the hashtag #SwiftQuakeDublin.

“This will allow us to compare the seismic activity to moments in the concert and hopefully learn which songs are most popular with fans and which night fans were most active,” Dunn explained.

She added: “I also hope that by doing this we can bring science to new audiences and stimulate young people’s curiosity about the world around them.”

@swift_quake Last week we started digging up Dublin’s gardens! We’ve been installing seismometers all over the city in preparation for #swiftquakedublin! #swiftquake #erastour #taylorswift #dublintstheerastour @Taylor Nation @Taylor Swift ♬ Original sound – Swift Quake Dublin

This week, Dunn announced some other “very interesting” results from her research.

In her social media posts, she revealed that the same song caused the strongest seismic activity on each of the three nights, “so it was clearly a favorite of the Dublin Swifties.”

She also shared some data collected during Swift’s performance of “Cruel Summer” on the first night, Friday, June 28.

“As you can see, there was actually a climax when the audience started singing the bridge,” she said, referring to her “Cruel Summer” dates.

@swift_quake hey everyone! I hope you had an AMAZING time at the Aviva Stadium!! Seeing all your amazing outfits and friendship bracelets made me really excited to see Taylor in August! But in the meantime I have a small request… #swiftquakedublin #swiftquake #dublintstheerastour #taylorswift ♬ Original sound – Swift Quake Dublin

She also gave some insight into Swift’s performance of “Champagne Problems,” which showed that the applause “lasted a long time and had a big impact.”

@swift_quake over 4 minutes of applause for champagne problems! But will it be as popular as Edinburgh? 👀 #swiftquakedublin check out https://stationview.raspberryshake.org/#/?lat=53.35135&lon=-6.24843&zoom=8.000 to watch live #Swiftquakes! #dublintstheerastour #taylorswift @Taylor Nation ♬ Original Sound – Swift Quake Dublin

Although the concerts have now ended, Dunn still asks visitors to send her videos of the concerts, as she herself was not in the packed stadium.

“I have all the ground vibration data collected across Dublin and I know the setlist and timing of all the songs and what Taylor did on stage. But I don’t know what the audience did during the performances because I wasn’t in the stadium, I was listening to the concerts outside the Aviva.

“That’s why I really need videos shot from inside the stadium, especially perhaps from a seated position, which will provide a more comprehensive view of what’s happening and the crowd’s activities, as well as what’s happening on stage.”

You can share your footage of the Taylor Swift Eras Tour from the Aviva Stadium in Dublin with Dunn on TikTok, X and Instagram or using the hashtag #SwiftQuakeDublin.