I bagged Taylor Swift tickets in the presale – here are the seven things I wish I’d known going in (and the key detail in an email I almost missed)
- Femail’s Lydia Hawken managed to bag tickets to the Eras tour in just 10 minutes
- Read More: ‘This is our Hunger Games!’ Taylor Swift fans share the desperate measures they’re taking to bag tickets to her mega tour
Since Taylor Swift announced she is bringing her Eras tour to Europe next summer, her UK fans – myself included – have been in total freefall.
Over the past few weeks, my social media feeds have been awash with tips, tricks and so-called ‘insider secrets’ on how to bag a ticket to one of her must-see shows.
But despite watching countless hours of TikTok tutorials, I was still an anxious wreck going into the first presale this morning – which I only had access to because I’d preordered the Midnights album in October.
Last November, US Taylor fans combined with a staggering number of bot attacks managed to crash the Ticketmaster website – making it a case of pure luck who was allocated a Golden Ticket.
On top of this, the upcoming Sydney shows also sold out within two hours last month – leaving thousands of fans devastated.
Femail’s Senior Writer Lydia Hawken dressed up as Taylor Swift from the I Bet You Think About Me music video earlier this year
Pictured: Taylor Swift in the I Bet You Think About Me music video in November 2021. The star will be putting on 48 Europe shows next year
Only last night, I watched in horror as one TikTok user documented her 12-hour battle with a ticketing website – only for it to crash just as she was checking out with her well-deserved tickets.
So you can imagine my utter disbelief when I bagged four floor seats at Taylor’s first Wembley show next June just 10 minutes after the sale started.
If you’re going to be trying your luck for tickets at one of the 48 Europe shows, here’s everything I wish I had known ahead of this morning – including an important detail that I almost missed.
REGISTER WITH TICKETMASTER OR AXS AND SAVE YOUR CARD DETAILS
In order to put less of a strain on the Ticketmaster website, tickets for the UK shows are also being sold through AXS.
If you have qualified for the presale, you will have already received an email informing you which ticketing platform you need to use.
Before the sale starts, it’s hugely important that you have a account with either of these websites – as you need to login with your email to access the waiting room.
If it is your first time using either of these platforms, it’s worth adding your payment details ahead of time – as this will make the checkout process a whole lot smoother.
Pictured: Lydia Hawken aged 15 at Taylor Swift’s Speak Now tour at London’s O2. The Swiftie managed to bag four tickets in the presale today
An hour before the presale began this morning, I logged into my account to ensure that there were no teething issues.
In a battle to crack down on bots, they also texted me a login code – which you don’t want to be faffing around with when the sale is already underway.
STUDY THE INSTRUCTION EMAIL
Due to the phenomenal demand, it’s looking unlikely that Eras tour tickets are going to go on general sale in the normal sense.
Instead, UK fans who have registered for tickets will be split between Ticketmaster and AXS for the foreseeable.
On Thursday, I was sent an email with my unique presale code – but in my excitement, I almost overlooked a key piece of information.
Buried in and around the fine-print, it read: ‘Waiting rooms will open 30 minutes before the sale starts.’
It was only when I asked my other half to double check all the information last night that he flagged that I could log in at 10:30 for the 11am sale.
This meant I increased my chances of being ahead of fans who logged in at bang-on 11am.
Last November, US Taylor fans combined with a staggering number of bot attacks managed to crash the Ticketmaster website
IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT TIME YOU JOIN THE WAITING ROOM
Following the instruction email to a T, I joined the waiting room this morning at bang-on 10:30am.
On the AXS website, a holding message read: ‘When the waiting room opens, you will be assigned a random queue alongside everyone else who also arrives.’
Although this would put you ahead of people logging on at 11am, this doesn’t necessarily mean that I had access before those who arrived in the waiting room after me.
But being on the holding page from the moment it started was worth it just for my piece of mind.
To access it on the AXS website, simply click through the website as if you were going to buy tickets and a blue bar should appear that reads ‘join the waiting room’.
Pictured: What the AXS waiting room looks like on a desktop. The waiting room opens 30 minutes before the sale
Pictured: What the AXS online queue looks like. The website automatically redirects customers from the virtual waiting room
DON’T REFRESH THE PAGE AT THE END OF THE WAITING ROOM
This is where things got a bit tense. As the clock counted down to zero on the holding page, I wasn’t sure whether the waiting room would take my directly to the queue.
As this was the first AXS Taylor sale, I couldn’t find any information about it online – so resisted the urge to refresh when 11am hit.
Fortunately, AXS took me straight through to their virtual queue – where you can watch your progress with a ticket icon working its way along a blank bar which gradually turns blue.
It seems obvious to me now but don’t refresh the page when the sale actually starts – this runs the risk of the website not registering that you were ever in the waiting room.
YOU ONLY HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO ENTER THE WEBSITE
Once you reach the front of the queue, AXS users only have five minutes to access the website.
Unfortunately, this means you have to be glued to your screen for when you’re granted your in.
With this in mind, I’d recommend trying to get tickets on a laptop or desktop as opposed to a device which automatically locks.
After watching TikToks of people waiting hours to access the website, I was fully-expecting to be in the queue for the long-haul.
Taylor Swift is performing a 3-hour long extravaganzas with songs spanning throughout different eras of her career
Fortunately, I got through to the website at 11:07am and you only have a matter of minutes to pay for your tickets once you add them to your basket, which is pretty standard practice.
DON’T TRY TO GET TICKETS ON MULTIPLE BROWSERS
In the past, I’ve successfully bagged tickets to shows by logging on from my laptop, phone and iPad all at the same time to increase my odds.
But in an effort to crack down on bots, Ticketmaster have asked that fans only try to buy from a single browser.
Before you’re able to join the waiting room, you have to enter your register email address anyhow.
In other words, it’s only going to waste valuable time trying to keep an eye on more than one device.
TICKETS START AT £58 FOR WEMBLEY
Going into it today, I was only allowed to buy four tickets with my presale code – but I had no idea how much the tickets could actually cost.
The first type of ticket I saw – the It’s Been a Long Time Coming package – cost a staggering £662.
This includes a reserved seating ticket, four prints, exclusive merchandise and lanyard.
Next, the Karma is my Boyfriend package – costing £387 each – gives guests early entry to their standing section as well as VIP merchandise.
The Eras Tour UK and European dates
- May 9, 2024 – Paris, France – Paris La Défense Arena
- May 10, 2024 – Paris, France – Paris La Défense Arena
- May 11, 2024 – Paris, France – Paris La Défense Arena
- May 12, 2024 – Paris, France – Paris La Défense Arena
- May 17, 2024 – Stockholm, Sweden – Friends Arena
- May 18, 2024 – Stockholm, Sweden – Friends Arena
- May 19, 2024 – Stockholm, Sweden – Friends Arena
- May 24, 2024 – Lisbon, Portugal – Estádio da Luz
- May 25, 2024 – Lisbon, Portugal – Estádio da Luz
- May 30, 2024 – Madrid, Spain – Estadio Santiago Bernabéu
- June 2, 2024 – Lyon, France – Groupama Stadium
- June 3, 2024 – Lyon, France – Groupama Stadium
- June 7, 2024 – Edinburgh, UK – BT Murrayfield Stadium
- June 8, 2024 – Edinburgh, UK – BT Murrayfield Stadium
- June 9, 2024 – Edinburgh, UK – BT Murrayfield Stadium
- June 13, 2024 – Liverpool, UK – Anfield Stadium
- June 14, 2024 – Liverpool, UK – Anfield Stadium
- June 15, 2024 – Liverpool, UK – Anfield Stadium
- June 18, 2024 – Cardiff, UK – Principality Stadium
- June 21, 2024 – London, UK – Wembley Stadium
- June 22, 2024 – London, UK – Wembley Stadium
- June 23, 2024 – London, UK – Wembley Stadium
- June 28, 2024 – Dublin, Ireland – Aviva Stadium
- June 29, 2024 – Dublin, Ireland – Aviva Stadium
- June 30, 2024 – Dublin, Ireland – Aviva Stadium
- July 4, 2024, Amsterdam, Netherlands – Johan Cruijff ArenA
- July 5, 2024, Amsterdam, Netherlands – Johan Cruijff ArenA
- July 6, 2024, Amsterdam, Netherlands – Johan Cruijff ArenA
- July 9, 2024, Zurich, Switzerland – Stadion Letzigrund Zürich
- July 10, 2024, Zurich, Switzerland – Stadion Letzigrund Zürich
- July 13, 2024, Milan, Italy – San Siro Stadium
- July 14, 2024, Milan, Italy – San Siro Stadium
- July 17, 2024 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany – VELTINS-Arena
- July 18, 2024 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany – VELTINS-Arena
- July 19, 2024 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany – VELTINS-Arena
- July 23, 2024, Hamburg, Germany – Volksparkstadion
- July 24, 2024, Hamburg, Germany – Volksparkstadio
- July 27, 2024, Munich, Germany – Olympiastadion
- July 28, 2024, Munich, Germany – Olympiastadion
- August 1, 2024, Warsaw, Poland – PGE Narodowy
- August 2, 2024, Warsaw, Poland – PGE Narodowy
- August 3, 2024, Warsaw, Poland – PGE Narodowy
- August 8, 2024, Vienna Austria – Ernst-Happel-Stadion
- August 9, 2024, Vienna Austria – Ernst-Happel-Stadion
- August 10, 2024, Vienna Austria – Ernst-Happel-Stadion
- August 15, 2024, London, UK – Wembley Stadium
- August 16, 2024, London, UK – Wembley Stadium
- August 17, 2024, London, UK – Wembley Stadium
Thirdly, there’s the I Remember It All Too Well package – which costs £332 and guarantees a reserved seat as well as four Taylor Swift prints, tote bag and a souvenir concert ticket.
Although there were several more VIP packages, I settled on the £170 standing tickets for myself and three pals. However, the cheapest ones on offer are £58.65 for a seated ticket.
The show is made up of an epic 44-song setlist, as well as two different surprise acoustic songs which she invites guests on stage to perform.
With that in mind, UK Eras Tour tickets will likely be highly in demand when they are released, and unfortunately, may be resold with hefty price tags.
Special guests have supported the artist including Phoebe Bridgers, and Swift has even invited old beaus on stage such as Taylor Lautner.
However, Paramore will be opening for Taylor on this leg of the tour – after Hayley Williams collborated with the pop star on her new song Castles Crumbling.
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