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.



Netflix Upfront Ad Commitments Surge as NFL Games, Squid Game Boost Appeal

 Lily Collins attends the Premiere for Netflix's "Emily In Paris" Season 4 at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, US, August 14, 2024. (Reuters)
Lily Collins attends the Premiere for Netflix's "Emily In Paris" Season 4 at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, US, August 14, 2024. (Reuters)
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Netflix Upfront Ad Commitments Surge as NFL Games, Squid Game Boost Appeal

 Lily Collins attends the Premiere for Netflix's "Emily In Paris" Season 4 at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, US, August 14, 2024. (Reuters)
Lily Collins attends the Premiere for Netflix's "Emily In Paris" Season 4 at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, US, August 14, 2024. (Reuters)

Netflix saw a more than 150% surge in upfront ad commitments for this year, the streaming giant said on Tuesday, thanks in part to the National Football League (NFL) games coming to the platform on Christmas Day.

In its second year of upfront negotiations — where networks and media companies aim to secure ad commitments for upcoming shows — Netflix successfully closed advertising deals with all major holding companies and independent agencies.

The California-based company secured partnerships for several high-profile properties, including the popular series "Squid Game" and "Wednesday," as well as the upcoming movie "Happy Gilmore 2."

It also closed deals for live events, including WWE Raw and the Christmas Day NFL games.

As competition intensifies in the streaming space, major players like Warner Bros Discovery's Max and Walt Disney's Disney+ have also turned to ad-supported plans and streaming bundles to boost growth.

Streaming services are also increasingly investing in sports content to attract a larger, younger audience and more advertisers willing to pay for premium live sports content.

Facing saturation in subscriber growth in the United States, Netflix has been beefing up its advertising business, although the business is not expected to become a primary driver of revenue growth until at least 2026.

The company last month reported its ad tier membership grew 34% sequentially in the second quarter.

Netflix introduced an ad-supported tier of the service in November 2022 as it tried to offset escalating costs of creating original content and licensing deals to keep viewers on the platform.

The cheaper, ad-supported plan hit 40 million global monthly active users in May.