Taylor Swift is lighting up Paris!
The singer is in the French capital for the European leg of her “Eras Tour” at the Paris La Défense Arena from May 9 to May 12 with new costumes, an edited setlist and an era she’s nicknamed “female rage, the musical.”
During her May 9 show, Swift shouted out the crowd, saying the energy in Paris makes her want to bring out “all kinds of fun surprises.”
Then for her final show in the City of Light, Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, was spotted in the crowd.
Some Swifties traveled thousands of miles to catch one of the singer’s four Paris shows — and in fact, anywhere between 20% and 30% of fans who were set to watch Swift in Paris are American, the arena’s CEO, Frederic Longuépée, told NBC News.
Parisian hotels and restaurants will be packed throughout the weekend, which is a good test for the city’s infrastructure and security leading up to another major event this summer: the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“For four nights, we’ll be the center of the world, which is important to us, because it’s a rehearsal for the Olympics, obviously,” Longuépée said.
These shows mark the first time Swift has performed onstage since the release of her record-shattering studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” After much speculation, Swift officially switched up her more than three-hour setlist, cutting some songs to make room for a new section dedicated to her 11th album.
Read on to learn more about Taylor Swift’s Paris “Eras Tour” shows, including how to buy last-minute tickets.
When are Taylor Swift’s Paris tour dates?
There will be four “Eras Tour” dates in Paris on May 9, 10, 11 and 12, with shows beginning at 6:30 p.m. local time.
Each show will take place at the Paris La Défense Arena, which is the largest indoor performance venue in Europe. The massive venue can accommodate 40,000 spectators in “concert mode,” according to the arena’s website. Gates will open for attendees at 4:45 p.m.
Paramore will open for Swift at her Paris shows.
What time is it in Paris?
Paris is six hours ahead of the U.S.
Since Swift’s shows start around 6:30 p.m. in Paris, Americans looking to follow along online should anticipate doing so at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Is Travis Kelce going to Taylor Swift’s Paris shows?
Kelce was spotted in the crowd during Swift’s May 12 show in Paris.
According to videos posted to X by fans, Kelce could be seeing dancing to Swift’s songs.
Kelce also showed support when she restarted her record-breaking tour May 9. Swift’s longtime guitarist Paul Sidoti shared a picture of him and Swift performing onstage with the caption, “The Eras Tour Europe starts tonight.. Paris you’re up first.. who’s coming?”
Kelce hopped into the comments section with, “Lfg!!!” and several raised hands emoji.
Kelce was not spotted at the May 9, 10 or 11 shows. Niecy Nash-Betts shared a video of Kelce May 11 on the set of the new Ryan Murphy show “Grotesquerie,” one of the tight end’s first major acting roles.
Kelce said in the past he would definitely be supporting his girlfriend during the European leg of her “Eras Tour.”
“London’s always an amazing city, Paris is a beautiful city. She’ll be all over Europe, so there won’t be a bad show, I promise you that,” the Kansas City Chiefs tight end told “Entertainment Tonight” in April.
Asked whether he would be packing his bags for any show in particular, Kelce replied, “Oh, you know I gotta go support.”
“Yeah, I mean, I think we’re both very career driven,” he added. “I think we both love what we do, and any chance that I can show my support to her, and knowing that she’s showing me all the support in the world throughout the season, it’s just been an amazing experience getting to know Tay.”
The weekend before Swift headed to Paris, Kelce was living his best life at the Kentucky Derby. The NFL star opened up about the “once-in-a-lifetime experience” at the May 4 race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
“I’m a Derby guy now, man,” Kelce said on the May 8 episode of the “New Heights” podcast with his brother, Jason Kelce. “It was so much fun.”
What will be changing during this leg of the ‘Eras Tour’?
Swift’s Paris shows will be her first live performances since the release of her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” in April.
Six songs (plus one bridge) from the new double album made it into the “Eras Tour” set list: “But Daddy I Love Him,” “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?,” “Down Bad,” “Fortnight,” “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” and part of “So High School.”
During Swift’s surprise song set May 10, the singer said she started planning the “Tortured Poets” set “about eight or nine months ago.”
“Then when we got two months off of the ‘Eras Tour,’ we really didn’t take any time off at all. We just went directly back into rehearsal,” she said.
The singer hinted at the addition in an April 25 YouTube Shorts video, which showed a montage of Swift and her backup dancers rehearsing for their European shows.
Many of the scenes were familiar from previous “Eras Tour” shows, but fans noticed one brand-new scene: Swift standing with her backup dancers behind her sporting top hats and holding canes.
That clip previewed an energetic performance of “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
“OMG SHE IS ADDING A NEW ERAAAAAAAAAA,”one fan commented on her YouTube video.
“WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT HOW THIS MEANS TAYLOR IS ADDING TTPD TO THE ERAS TOUR SETLIST!?!?” another person wrote.
“The Tortured Poets Department” has been shattering records since its April 19 release. The day it came out, the album became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day, and Swift became Spotify’s most-streamed artist in a single day, the streaming service announced on Instagram.
The album also launched with a record-breaking 2.6 million equivalent album units (which includes downloads, streams, and CD, vinyl and cassette sales) earned the first week of its release in the U.S., according Luminate, Billboard reported.
Swift said her “mind is blown” by the album’s success.
“I’m completely floored by the love you’ve shown this album,” she wrote in an April 28 Instagram post. “2.6 million ARE YOU ACTUALLY SERIOUS?? Thank you for listening, streaming, and welcoming Tortured Poets into your life. Feeling completely overwhelmed.
“I was already so fired up to get back to the tour but you doing THIS??” she added. “May 9th can’t come soon enough.”