Yahoo News Urgent plea to Swifties ahead of Anfield gigs as 'people are travelling across UK'
Some Taylor Swift fans are being urged to avoid Anfield stadium when the singer is performing there later this week.
Taylor will be arriving in the city soon as part of The Eras Tour. Thousands of people are expected to visit Liverpool over the three days for the shows.
Merseyside Police says it has been working closely with Liverpool Football Club and Liverpool City Council for months to assist in planning for this event.
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Speaking to the ECHO at the Merseyside Police Headquarters, Chief Superintendent Zoe Thornton, while advising people to only buy tickets through authorised sites, said reports of fraudulent tickets will be investigated thoroughly.
Ms Thornton is urging Swifties without tickets to avoid travelling to the Anfield area for the gigs. She said: “I think it's in the region of about 55,000, for each concert night. That's extremely high and we obviously need to get everybody in safely and out safely.
“So our ask really is for people to only attend if they have got a ticket, and to actually only attend at the time that their ticket gives them entrance, just so we can really manage the flow of crowds.”
Chief Superintendent Thornton pointed fans to the variety of events taking place in Liverpool city centre such as the Taylor Town Trial of artwork as alternatives to heading towards the area. Unlike an Liverpool FC matchday, where many fans without tickets come to pubs nearby, she argued the nature of the crowds at Taylor’s gigs means this behaviour is unsuitable.
She said: “The main premise for the police being involved is really from a safeguarding perspective. We know that the age demographic for the Taylor Swift concerts is a very young age demographic.
“We know nationally people are travelling right across the UK, so it's multifaceted mainly, to make sure the safety and security of those people attending.
“We also know that we're going to have road closures in place as well. That's been part of the strategies, about managing those road closures, but effectively making sure everybody has a safe, welcoming time when they come to Liverpool and when they attend the event itself.” Swifties have also been urged not to camp in Stanley Park.
Chief Superintendent Thornton argued these demographics had informed the police’s approach to the gigs. She said: “We'll have a mobile police station in Stanley Park, the local authority have also got a little bit of a hub there for giving advice.
“We anticipate that people will be travelling across the country so some people may lose track of friends, so we've got people to signpost, and if people do report someone missing, then clearly we can do any investigations in relation to that.
“We've got our community engagement that will be giving out friendship bracelets. I'm not sure how many they've made, but we'll certainly be giving some of those out.”
There will be an increased police presence in the city centre too, concentrated around St George’s Plateau in conjecture with the British Transport Police.
Chief Superintendent Thornton added she believed LFC’s plans to manage people entering the stadium, which includes designated entry times for attendees, were “absolutely appropriate”. However, she was keen to remind Swifties that the late finish time of the gigs makes accessing public transport more difficult.
She said: “We do have plans in place to go from the city centre to the location and back. I think the only thing I'll say is that the concert finishes late.
“It's a 10.45pm finish, so people just really need to be thinking how they're getting home after that, because once we can get people to the city centre, onward travel is a little bit limited. But any ticket holder knows that. That information is on the LFC site and Liverpool city council site too.”
