What’s it like seeing Taylor Swift in concert? “The world stops turning,” replies Fanny Hedin. Here are the testimonies of three local Swifties who saw their idol at one of the tour stops Eras.
Fanny Hedin: “One of the most beautiful things I have seen in my life”
Fanny Hedin
Photo provided by Fanny Hedin Cedric Belanger
On a whim, while she was in France for a cousin’s wedding, Fanny Hedin was able to see Taylor Swift in Lyon last summer. “I had planned to arrive in France a week before the wedding to be there while she was in Lyon, if tickets became available. On Saturday, I bought my ticket for Monday.”
The concert? “It was sick. The only problem I had was that I remember little bits, but not everything. I have videos that remind me that I experienced it, otherwise it’s a blackout total.»
Fortunately, she will be able to rebuild her bank of memories since by participating in contests, she won tickets for the concerts on November 14 and 15, in Toronto, and she will also go see her in Vancouver.
Four concerts in three cities and on two continents, “it’s intense,” recognizes Fanny Hedin, who admits that she will experience mourning at the end of the tour. “There will be a little void. There will be no more competitions to enter, no more concerts to watch.”
Emma Thibault: “It was us who were there”
Emma et Stella Thibault
Photo provided by Emma Thibault
Last year, twins Emma and Stella Thibault didn’t know if Taylor Swift’s tour would come to the country. They decided not to take any risks and fly to France.
They didn’t regret it. The evening lived up to their expectations.
“We had seen the videos on the internet, we had seen the film, we watch the videos live during the concerts, but there, it was us who were there and we could see it. It was incredible,” says Emma Thibault.
She is delighted to have this passion in common with her sister. “We are twins and Swifties. It’s one more link. We were already very close, but as soon as Taylor releases something, we write to each other straight away, in the evening we will stay up until midnight to listen to her album.
Marie-Anne de Champlain: “Spangles and colors as far as the eye can see”
Marie-Anne de Champlain (right) and her friend, Katiana.
Photo provided by Marie-Anne de Champlain
In Foxboro in the suburbs of Boston, where she saw Taylor Swift’s show, Marie-Anne de Champlain was marked both by what was happening inside the stadium and outside.
In the parking lot of Gillette Stadium, she participated in what the singer’s admirers call a Taylgate.
“People made friendship bracelets and exchanged them. Around 80% of the people present were in costume, whether it was related to Taylor Swift, one of her albums or the lyrics of her songs. There were glitter and colors as far as the eye could see. The atmosphere was great. Everyone respects each other. Looks like you can’t be mean. It was just happiness everywhere.”
“The show,” she adds, “is grandiose, no one stays seated, everyone stands.”
As was the case in other places, notably in Europe, thousands of Taylor Swift fans who did not have tickets gathered outside the stadium to hear the concert.
“There were at least 20,000 people just listening to the sound emanating from the stadium. I have never seen that in my life,” Marie-Anne de Champlain is still surprised today.