Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has unlocked a new type of super-fandom. From tickets going for more than $100k on resale ticket sites to 31 million people registering to buy tickets for Toronto’s six shows, demand for seeing the superstar have reached unheard of levels. But a group of fans in Buenos Aires, Argentina may have set the bar.
Ever since June, a few hundred Swifties have been camping outside of River Plate Stadium in anticipation of getting up close to the stage for the Eras Tour, which kicks off in Buenos Aires on November 9.
According to Pitchfork, hundreds of Swifties – mostly women, all over the age of 18 with general admission tickets - have built an encampment to ensure they have the best spot in the house for Swift’s three shows.
“We’ve been in this tent for five months,” a 21-year-old fan who wishes to remain anonymous tells Pitchfork. She works part-time and attends school, spending whatever free time she has waiting in a tent with her newfound community. “I usually tell my dad I’m at a park drinking mate with somebody, or visiting a friend of mine who lives near the stadium,” she adds.
With an internal spreadsheet created and monitored by two organizers and updated regularly by administrators, there is a serious system in place for the devoted fans to follow.
Approximately 60 people have been assigned to four tents. The more time someone waits in line, the greater the chance they have at securing a better spot. Camping out in bad weather or spending a full night, earn them double time.
“The fact that there are so many people makes things easier. We all have different schedules, and you fit yours amongst them,” Irina, a 20-year-old fan tells Pitchfork.
A set of rules were leaked online not long after the initiative began that reveals the code of practice. Such as no one is required to stay in a tent for 24 hours a day, but they are each expected to put in at least 60 hours a month and one sleepover in that same period.
One fan named Carmen tells Pitchfork she has accrued more than “300 total hours, or 12-and-a-half days,” waiting in a tent.
Weather and hecklers are a concern, but not enough to dissuade them from abandoning their goal: to see their hero up close, in the flesh next week.
Check out the full story over at Pitchfork.com. See a news story from Channel 9 Argentina about the encampment below.