Entertainment
Taylor Swift Fans Caused Seismic Activity at ‘Eras Tour’ Scotland Shows
Fans were shaking it off so hard at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shows in Scotland that they literally shook the ground — again.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) recently reported that Swifites caused seismic activity during the singer’s three-night run at Edinburgh’s Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium from Friday, June 7, to Sunday, June 9. The organization, which serves as the U.K.’s largest earthquake monitoring agency, revealed that earthquake readings were detected up to 6 kilometers (approximately 3.7 miles) from the concert venue.
According to the organization, the songs that garnered the largest amount of seismic activity were Reputation’s “…Ready For It?,” Lover’s “Cruel Summer” and Evermore’s “Champagne Problems.” During “…Ready For It?,” specifically, the activity reached its peak at 160 beats per minute and created around 80 kilowatts.
The BGS also reported that the June 7 concert created the most activity of all three nights with 23.4 nanometers, followed by Saturday at 22.8 nanometers and Sunday at 23.3 nanometers.
Swifites previously caused a 2.3 magnitude earthquake during a Seattle Eras Tour show in July 2023. Seismologist Jackie Caplan-Auerbach told CNN “the shaking was twice as strong as Beast Quake,” referring to fans shaking the ground after Marshawn Lynch scored a touchdown during a 2011 Seattle Seahawks game.
“The primary difference is the duration of shaking,” Caplan-Auerbach went on to explain. “Cheering after a touchdown lasts for a couple seconds, but eventually it dies down. It’s much more random than a concert.” Fellow seismologist Mouse Reusch revealed at the time that 1989’s “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space” got the biggest physical reactions from fans.
A new study released in March revealed that Swift’s August 2023 six-night stay at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium caused another seismic event, with “Shake It Off” and Fearless’ “Love Story” being the top two songs with the most movement. Fans have since dubbed the earthquake incidents “Swift-quakes.”
Swift’s Scotland concerts featured many memorable moments other than seismic activity. The Grammy winner, 34, paused her shows on multiple occasions to assist concertgoers in need of help, debuted a new brown velvet cloak during her Evermore set, added black gloves to her Tortured Poets Department outfit due to cold weather and got to witness a marriage proposal while singing “Cardigan.”
“I love performing this entire show in the sunlight because I’m pretty sure I saw somebody get engaged over here,” she said on stage, per social media footage. “Did it happen? Yes! You have no idea [how excited I am]. I never get to see that, because it’s, like, dark usually at night, but it’s not right now. So, congratulations, wow! I just saw that whole thing. Man, that’s amazing.”
A 64-year-old man was also arrested for voyeurism following the tour’s June 8 concert. Details about the arrest were not made public, though Police Scotland Superintendent David Happs said in a statement that the man was “released on an undertaking to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date.”
Swift ended her stay in Scotland by making sizable donations to the Edinburgh Food Project and multiple food banks across the city.
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