How Pinoy Swiftie lobbied for PH stop of Taylor Swift’s eras tour

CEBU, Philippines —  Last March 20, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I noticed a post from someone named “Arnold Uy” on the group page “Kulto ni TAYLOR SWIFT.” Make no mistake, it’s not a literal cult. Rather, it’s a group page on Facebook that consists of Filipino Swifties who post anything related to Taylor and their fans. A lot of the posts contain inside jokes related to Filipino memes that other non-Filipino Swifties might not understand.

Uy’s post caught my attention because he attended both opening nights (March 17 and 18) of Swift’s “The Eras Tour” in Glendale, Arizona. Outside State Farm Stadium where the concert took place, he wore a pink blazer – a reference to one of the looks that Swift wore in the music video of “ME!” – while holding a sign that said “The Eras Tour Philippines #SwiftNation” with the Philippine flag as background.

Currently, Filipino Swiftie fan clubs including Taylor Swift Cebu organized events inspired by the Eras Tour in a bid to make the Philippines one of the potential stops, with extensive social media coverage of these events that would be brought to the attention of Swift, her management team known as “Taylor Nation” by her fans, and the parent company of Swift’s record label Universal Music Group. As of writing, Swift is currently embarking on the US leg of the tour and has not officially announced international stops.

The demand for Swift to perform in the country is high that even Anne Curtis-Smith expressed her desire on social media to see Swift perform in Manila, which is where she last performed in 2014 for her “Red Tour.”

One Filipino nurse in America took things further by actually going to the concert, taking advantage of the front-row seats by holding up a sign, begging the Grammy-winning artist to return to the Philippines after almost a decade of not performing in the country.

Swiftie Profile

Uy, an Iloilo City native currently based in Fresno, California, is a dialysis nurse at Fresenius Kidney Care. When he was still a student in the Philippines, he became a Swiftie in 2012 during the “Red” era, which spawned multiple hits including “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”, “I Knew You Were Trouble”, “22” and the famous magnum opus heartbreak ballad “All Too Well.”

The 25-year-old Swiftie considers the 2014 follow-up record “1989” where Swift made her full transition from country to pop star to be his favorite among the ten albums and two re-recorded albums in her discography.

Uy wasn’t able to see the artist live when she performed in Manila in 2012 and 2014. So in 2022 when Swift announced that she is mounting “The Eras Tour” the following year, Uy knew he had to see Swift live.

Like most Swifties, Uy experienced difficulty in securing tickets online when sales opened on November 18 and the website crashed multiple times. This infamous crash led to massive negative publicity for Ticketmaster with US politicians calling for hearings on the alleged monopolization of live music events by Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation. The ticketing service was also sued by US fans for allegedly misleading customers over the sale of tickets.

Luckily, he was able to secure a ticket for the second Vegas show on March 25 at Allegiant Stadium, which led to him getting three more tickets for another Vegas show on the 24th, as well as the opening shows at Glendale where he brought his sign.

As with many Swifties who were lucky to watch Swift, the ensembles he wore to the shows were inspired by the aesthetic of her album eras. “I wrote a variety of outfits that were Taylor-related. For the first night in Glendale, I went for a ‘Reputation’ theme. The second night I went for ‘Lover.’ I went simple for the Vegas shows as I did ‘Folklore’ and ‘Midnights’”, he shared.

“I also carried a sign with me that says “THE ERAS TOUR PHILIPPINES #SWIFTNATION” for my fellow Filipino Swifties [back home]”.

To this day, the fact he went to four Swift shows is surreal to him. “If I have to describe it in one word, it was PERFECT. The opening night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale was my first Taylor Swift concert ever. She did not disappoint and on top of it all, Taylor slayed the whole time she was on stage.”

Possibility

While Uy did his best to try to bring attention to his countrymen’s pleas to Swift through his sign, he isn’t sure if Swift or her team actually saw it but he considers his effort to be significant.

“I believe it’ll come a long way and I will continue to do it on the next shows I plan on going to,” he said.

Uy also isn’t certain if the tour’s massive stage would fit in the country’s concert venues like SM Mall of Asia Arena or the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.

“I have not been to any concerts in the Philippines but I’ve seen a lot of Filipino Swifties comparing the stage and venues in the Philippines, I can’t really say if the stage could fit or not but if it does happen, I hope they could make adjustments to fit in the venues,” he said.

Still, Uy is optimistic that there might be a way for Swift to come to the Philippines given the high demand. “I would rate her chances of coming an 8/10 because the Philippines is a Swift Nation and it would be amazing if she visited again. Filipino Swifties miss her so much.”

He suggested that Swiftie fan clubs in the Philippines continue their efforts to make their country a potential stop because who knows if their pleas might come true.

“My advice to fellow Filipino Swifties is to hold on to that dream and believe. I’ve been a Swiftie for a long time now and I waited for many years and I got to finally see Taylor not just once but four times in a span of a week. That used to be a dream, I believed and it came true.”