Taylor Swift Ends European Leg of Eras Tour with Surprise-Packed Show

Four police officers show their wrist bands that have names of Swift songs as fans of singer Taylor Swift, called Swifties, arrive at Wembley Stadium in London, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 for the first of five concerts of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.(AP)
Four police officers show their wrist bands that have names of Swift songs as fans of singer Taylor Swift, called Swifties, arrive at Wembley Stadium in London, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 for the first of five concerts of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.(AP)
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Taylor Swift Ends European Leg of Eras Tour with Surprise-Packed Show

Four police officers show their wrist bands that have names of Swift songs as fans of singer Taylor Swift, called Swifties, arrive at Wembley Stadium in London, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 for the first of five concerts of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.(AP)
Four police officers show their wrist bands that have names of Swift songs as fans of singer Taylor Swift, called Swifties, arrive at Wembley Stadium in London, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 for the first of five concerts of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.(AP)

Taylor Swift was joined by surprise guest Florence Welch for her first live performance of "Florida!!!" during the final European date of her Eras tour on Tuesday.

The pop megastar also debuted "So Long, London", a ballad that fans widely believe is about the end of her relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn, in the acoustic section of the show at Wembley Stadium.

Both tracks feature on Swift's eleventh studio album, "The Tortured Poets Department", which was released this year.

Welch, of British indie rock band Florence + the Machine, co-wrote "Florida!!!" and sang on the recorded track.

Swift drew fans from near and far for the last opportunity to see her critically acclaimed show in Europe.

The US singer-songwriter returned to London's Wembley Stadium last week for five performances following the cancellation of her shows in Vienna, when a planned attack was foiled by authorities.

Some of the 195,000 disappointed fans in Vienna rushed to buy tickets for the London dates on resale sites, where they were changing hands for up to 10 times face value.

Eras, the first tour to surpass $1 billion in revenue, showcases all 11 of Swift's studio albums in dedicated sections. Her performances and the show's staging have been praised by critics.

Fans arriving in Wembley, dressed in sequins, cowboy hats, and forearms covered in friendship bracelets ready to swap with other Swifties, faced tight security checks.

While British police have said there was nothing to indicate the events in Vienna would impact any of the shows at Wembley, there was highly visible security at the stadium.

Tay-gating, the practice of gathering outside a Swift show without a ticket, as thousands did in Munich last month, has been banned, as authorities try to reduce harder-to-control risks outside the venue.

Marie Wright, aged 48, from Limerick, Ireland, bought tickets on a resale site on Monday evening and flew to London on Tuesday with her daughter’s best friend Aoife McCarthy, aged 15. Her own daughter had already seen the show in Dublin.

"She’s going to leave Europe, so we had to come for the last night," McCarthy said.

"Her songs have real meaning and there’s a poetry to them," Wright added.

The tour returns to the United States in October and ends in Vancouver, Canada, in December.



Meg Ryan Honored for Achievement by Sarajevo Film Festival

American actor Meg Ryan speaks as she receives the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Amel Emric
American actor Meg Ryan speaks as she receives the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Amel Emric
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Meg Ryan Honored for Achievement by Sarajevo Film Festival

American actor Meg Ryan speaks as she receives the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Amel Emric
American actor Meg Ryan speaks as she receives the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Amel Emric

Hollywood actor, film director and producer Meg Ryan was honored by the Sarajevo Film Festival with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo for her contribution to the film industry late on Tuesday.

Ryan was one of four film authors who received the award, alongside US and Palestinian film directors Alexander Payne and Elia Suleiman and US actor and producer John Turturro, Reuters reported.

"It's an award in recognition of outstanding contribution to the world of cinema, to her incredible talents," festival director Jovan Marjanović said before handing Ryan a silver heart-shaped award.

Ryan symbolically presented a special screening of her 1998 hit romantic comedy "You’ve Got Mail" at an open air cinema, the same place where it was first screened at the festival in 1999.

At the masterclass moderated by Oscar-winning Bosnian film director Danis Tanovic, Ryan talked about "What Happens Later", her second feature that she directed, wrote and co-starred with David Duchovny, which was also screened at the festival.

She said that she ventured into acting to pay for her journalism studies, and that she was an "untrained actress.”

"I had a beginner's mind, which I see now as a very valuable thing, there is certain naivety, innocence that is important when you are an artist," she said.

The Sarajevo Film Festival, a movie showcase spreading from Vienna to Istanbul, was created by a group of film enthusiasts towards the end of the Bosnian war 30 years ago. It will showcase 240 films in total this year.