Woman spent 10 months making 400 gifts for Liverpool

A 22-year-old woman has spent 10 months making special gifts to share with people in Liverpool.

Since August last year, Zuzia, from The Netherlands, has spent hours hours handcrafting hundreds of bespoke items in preparation of flying to the city. Like thousands across the globe, Zuzia and her family are in Liverpool this week for Taylor Swift's highly anticipated Eras Tour.

The tour is a culmination of Taylor's entire musical career, with different sections of the concert representing each album. Taylor will perform at Anfield on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 13, 14, and 15 and Zuzia is among the dedicated fans, known as Swifties, who have been preparing for the event for almost a year.

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Last summer, Zuzia began making friendship bracelets to wear and share at the concert with fellow fans after getting tickets for three generations of her family for night two in Liverpool. Surpassing her goal, Zezia has made four hundred different bracelets celebrating different eras of Taylor's career and also referencing songs, lyrics and quotes from the superstar.

Zezia, who arrived in the city last night with mum Agnes, aunty Aga, cousins Yvonne and Anne and grandmother, Liz, told the ECHO: "It was hard to get tickets - so we’re all really excited

"I've been a fan for years, I don't remember exactly when I became a fan. I started making the bracelets in August and then I've just been making them every now and then.

"My target was to make 300 for all of us to have a good amount to have each and to share, but in the last few weeks I made more. I finished them about two days ago."

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Whether you're a fan or not, you may have noticed a trend that has become synonymous with the tour. An explosion of beads, bright colours and creativity, the trend of making and trading friendship bracelets among Swifties is inspired by lyrics from one of her songs.

Back in 2022, Taylor released her album, Midnights, which features the song, You're On Your Own, Kid. The lyrics - “so make the friendship bracelets. Take the moment and taste it" - were taken seriously by the fans and has become a key element of the tour since its first few shows.

The trend has seen fans from across the globe buy and handcraft their own, featuring different coloured and shaped beads, featuring song titles, albums titles, lyrics and even nods to cities hosting the concerts. These can be worn or swapped during the concert, with some having such extensive collections that they cover everything between their wrists and elbows.

Zezia thinks she may be among the Swifties who have made the most friendship bracelets ahead of the concert and she hopes to share as many as possible when she goes to Friday nights concert.. She said it was hard to think of different designs and wording on the bracelets as time went on, but that it definitely has become "a hobby."

Zuzia's mum, Agnes, said it is exciting to visit the city, where her brother's family live and that they have plans to visit the Taylor Town Trail installations. The trail, inspired by Taylor Swift's music, boasts numerous unique Instagram-able experiences based around 11 art installations to entertain the 150,000 Swifties who’ll be travelling to the city from across the world.

Agnes told the ECHO: "It's my daughter, myself, my sister-in -law, my two nieces and my mum - so it’s three generations of us who got tickets. When we left the airport, we saw all the banners, Liverpool Loves Taylor.

"Everything looks so fun and we’re excited to experience it." Zezia added: "It looks really really fun and it's really nice to see the city embracing Taylor like that."

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