LONDON — Taylor Swift’s history-making “Eraser Tour” made a spectacular comeback in London on Thursday night, accompanied by Ed Sheeran.
He joined the headliner’s acoustic section onstage at Wembley Stadium, performing the pair’s collaborations “Everything Has Changed” and “Endgame,” before launching into a run-through of Sheeran’s hit “Thinking Out Loud.”
Swift teased the crowd before her appearance, but elicited loud screams from the audience, who were already enthusiastically singing, dancing and making heart-shaped hands throughout the show.
Sheeran’s appearance was one of the highlights of a slick stage and musical extravaganza that has defined Swift’s career to date.
It’s been a tough few weeks for the singer and the tour.
Mourning continues after an attacker killed three young fans at a Swift-themed dance class in Southport, northern England.
There was fear in Austria after a foiled plot to attack one of her concerts saw police arrest three Islamic State-inspired militants.
Thursday’s Wembley show marked Swift’s return to the stage as part of her Eras tour after an August Vienna show was cancelled. Swift didn’t mention either show onstage, opening with “Oh High London,” admitting that her “mind went blank” when she greeted the audience for the first time, likening it to “a love system overload.”
She thanked the 92,000 spectators who made the effort to attend despite increased security measures.
Swift has four more shows scheduled at Wembley Stadium, which will mark a record-breaking solo residency at the venue and conclude the European leg of her The Eras Tour.
The excitement will pick up again in Toronto in November.
Thanks to the enthusiasm of Swift’s fans and a setlist that featured more than 40 songs from every stage of her career, the Eras Tour was the biggest grossing tour of her history.
Ticket sales exceeded $1 billion last year, according to Pollstar, which collects data on the live music industry.
The tour is expected to push that record to more than $2 billion by the time it finishes in Indianapolis later this year.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.