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Report nowTaylor Swift is performing in Zurich. blue News editor Bruno Bötschi bought four VIP tickets. Due to the complicated security measures, he is now afraid of missing the pop star's concert.
I was really looking forward to seeing Taylor Swift. In just a few days, the biggest pop star of the moment was performing twice in a row in Zurich.
Yes, I am one of the lucky people who managed to get hold of four VIP tickets in June a year ago during a highly complicated ticket purchasing process.
It is said that the 34-year-old US singer will be on stage for three hours and perform around 40 songs.
Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" started in Arizona in March 2023 and is scheduled to end in Vancouver, Canada, on December 8. Over 150 concerts are planned worldwide - two of them next Tuesday and Wednesday at the Letzigrund in Zurich.
With a capacity of 50,000 visitors, Letzi is the largest venue for concerts in Switzerland. This suits Taylor Swift, the champion of the discipline "Never before":
1. never before has a female artist achieved so many streams on Apple and Spotify.
2. never before has a solo artist been at number one on the US Billboard albums chart for so long.
3. never before has it been so difficult to get a ticket for a concert.
Since I managed to buy four "We Never Go Out Of Style Package" VIP tickets for Taylor Swift's concert in Zurich on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, at a price of 338.65 Swiss francs each in June a year ago, the ticket seller has been sending me emails with unpleasant regularity.
As complicated as the previous sentence sounds, the ticket seller's emails, which are (thankfully) written in German and English, sound just as complicated, only much longer.
The Swiftie VIP gimmick reached its peak when I received a package containing four 43 x 27 x 3 centimeter Taylor Swift boxes with fan merchandise a few days ago - VIP badge included. All well and good.
The pinnacle of Swifties VIP gossip: blue News editor Bruno Bötschi was recently sent a package containing four 43 x 27 x 3 centimeter Taylor Swift boxes.
Picture: Bruno Bötschi
Why did I buy a VIP ticket? For the simple reason that I thought that if I spent a few francs more on the ticket, I would be able to experience Taylor Swift's performance right up front.
So not only will I hear her music, but I'll also be able to see her face and the various dance moves with the naked eye.
Over the past 13 months, however, I have learned that the procedure for attending a Taylor Swift concert is about as complicated as if I wanted to visit the headquarters of the British secret service MI6 in London (James Bond sends his regards).
For reasons of space, I won't go into all the individual emails that the ticket seller and concert organizer have sent me over the past weeks and months.
Just this much: the ticket procedure is so complicated that my desire to go to a Taylor Swift concert has suffered badly. I'm also not sure whether I'll even make it into the Letzigrund.
As the buyer of four VIP tickets, a lot is expected of me. For example, I have to come to the concert together with the three other people for whom I bought tickets.
I also have to be able to show an original and valid document (ID, passport or driver's license) at the entrance. And I wouldn't be surprised if all the people who want to enter the stadium were also put through a full-body scanner.
According to the organizer's plan, Taylor Swift's concert at Letzigrund is scheduled to start at 5.45 pm.
VIP early entry check-in takes place from 2.30 pm to 3.15 pm, but only for holders of the "Ready For It" and "We Never Go Out Of Style" VIP packages (i.e. for me).
The small print says: "After entering the venue, leaving and re-entering the venue is not permitted - no exceptions will be allowed."
What am I supposed to do as a "We Never Go Out Of Style" VIP in the more than three hours until the concert at Letzigrund? No idea. Maybe test the rainproofness of my ponchos?
An inquiry from me on this subject has not yet been answered by the organizer.
Well then, as I am still part of the working population, I can unfortunately only be at Letzigrund at 5pm.
What the concert organizer doesn't find funny at all: "In the event of late arrival, this may result in the complete loss of all activities associated with VIP Early Entry. A refund will not be granted under any circumstances," it says on the website.
blue News editor Bruno Bötschi found out that the procedure for attending a Taylor Swift concert is about as complicated as if you wanted to visit the headquarters of the British secret service MI6 in London.
Picture: IMAGO/ANP
At least my second email inquiry about what to do if I arrive at Letzigrund after 3.15 pm is answered within a reasonable time:
"If you arrive after the early entry time slot has closed, you simply need to join the general queue at the location indicated on your ticket."
Oh, those were the good old days when VIP ticket holders didn't have to show any secret service training and didn't have to worry about not being allowed to enter the venue in the first place.
In just a few days, the biggest pop star of the moment will be performing twice in a row in Zurich. I was really looking forward to seeing Taylor Swift.
