Taylor Swift in Dublin FAQ: Transport, weather, stage times — here's what you need to know

Resale tickets have been popping up within Ticketmaster at a staggering markup, but promoters advise against any potential scams

Fri, 28 Jun, 2024 - 08:10

Mike McGrath-Bryan and Nicole Glennon

One of the world's biggest pop stars, Taylor Swift is currently on the 'Eras tour' a worldwide jaunt of stadium shows taking in the singer's back catalogue of singles and streaming smashes — including a three-night residency in Dublin. Here's what you need to know.

When and where is this happening?

She's set to play at the Aviva Stadium, the former Lansdowne Road, from Friday June 28 to Sunday 30.

What's the craic with tickets?

Don't mention the war.

Resale tickets have been popping up within Ticketmaster, at a staggering markup, but promoters advise against any potential ticketing scams.

Who's supporting?

Emo-poppers-turned-indie outfit Paramore are an added bonus for elder-millennial Swifties.

What time is kickoff?

Doors are at 5pm, with promoters asking attendees to arrive and queue in orderly fashion, before Paramore take to the stage.

No exact timings are available yet, but Paramore are expected to grace the stage around 6:15pm, with Swift sometime around 7:15pm for the marathon 3hr 15min long concert.

What is the weather forecast?

Unfortunately, it looks like fans might be in for a bit of a Cruel Summer with a last-minute change to the weather forecast.

While initially Friday was expected to be dry with a mix of cloud and sun, Met Éireann is now forecasting outbreaks of rain in the evening, and moderate wind. Highest temperatures are just 16C to 18C, so keep this in mind when outfit planning. The pollen count is also high on Friday, so hayfever suffers should be prepared.

Those heading Saturday might be The Lucky One(s) with the rain in the morning expected to be cleared by the time the gig kicks off. Sunny spells are forecasted with highs of 15C to 19C and a light breeze.

Sunday is set to have the best temperatures of the weekend, with highs of 20C.

How do I get out there and back?

Promoters have issued the usual warnings — give yourself plenty of time to head over and back; preferably walk, cycle, and use public transport, etc.

Luas: The Aviva is a 30-to-40-minute walk from Ranelagh, Charlemont, Harcourt, St Stephen’s Green, Dawson and Trinity stops, on the Green Line.
Dart: Lansdowne Road Dart station is less than a minute’s walk from the southern end of the stadium — be wary of big crowds at the station and onboard. Extra Dart and commuter train services will be laid on for the weekend, which also includes Dublin Pride, All-Ireland football quarter-finals, Longitude and more. Events teams will be onsite.
Train: For Intercity customers, Irish Rail is running a late-night train at 12.40am from Heuston to Cork, with a connection to Limerick, which must be booked in advance.
Bus: Dublin Bus routes 1, 4, 7, 7a, 38, 38a, 47, C1 and C2 serve the Aviva.
Coach: Check with your local providers.
Car: No parking at the stadium on concert days for security reasons. Claremont Parking and Q-Park are among your options in the city, but spaces are limited.

What's security checking for?

People with bags will be patted down and searched, while everyone else will be put in the fast lane.

Bags must be smaller than A4 paper size, and banned items include umbrellas, large-lens professional cameras, flagpoles, selfie sticks, sticks for banners, anything that could be used as a weapon, bottles, glass vessels, cans, flasks, frisbees, illegal substances, scooters, skateboards or other skates, laser devices, prams or pushchairs, inflatable or folding chairs, suitcases, laptops, illegal merchandise, hampers and cool boxes, and air horns.

Strictly no animals, except service dogs and guide dogs.

Dublin Eras Tour: Every Taylor Swift event including brunch and after-parties

What's the story with access and disability?

Contact MCD Productions at access@mcd.ie for accessible parking and information about wheelchair access to the venue and accessible seating.

Taylor Swift performs 'The Man' on the Era's tour. Picture: Lisa Lake/TAS23/Getty Images

What about photography?

Smartphones or small digital cameras only — professional cameras are for accredited snappers.

What do I need to know about the surprise set?

If you want to level-up one step further on the Swiftie scale, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with Swift’s extensive discography for the surprise set section. Here, Swift plays anything from two full songs to snippets of 4-6 songs mashed up with each other, one half on guitar, the other half on piano. But with over 200 songs to choose from for that surprise set... well, that’s a lot of lyrics to learn.

However, if we were to give a cheat's guide... we’d be fairly confident one of her surprise songs this weekend will be ‘Sweet Nothing’. The song, from Midnights, mentions her time in Wicklow and she has only performed the song once so far on tour.

And merch?

Official Eras Tour merch is on sale at the 3Arena in Dublin.

It will be open Thursday, June 27 to Sunday, June 30, from 10am - 8pm each day.

Hoodies/jumpers are priced between €75 and €80, t-shirts €45 and tote bags €30. For more information, see here.

What do I need to know about the surprise set?

During the surprise set section, Swift plays anything from two full songs to snippets of 4-6 songs mashed up with each other, one half on guitar, the other half on piano. But with over 200 songs to choose from for that surprise set... well, that’s a lot of lyrics to learn.

However, if we were to give a cheat guide... we’d be fairly confident one of her surprise songs this weekend will be ‘Sweet Nothing’. The song, from Midnights, mentions her time in Wicklow and she has only performed the song once so far on tour.

Another popular fan prediction for Dublin is ‘The Last Time,’ a song Swift wrote with Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody. Some fans are even hoping Lightbody might make a surprise appearance at the show for a special duet.

Others also think a duet with Stevie Nicks for 'Clara Bow', a song which mentions Nicks, might be in the works as the Fleetwood Mac singer is thought to be in Dublin this weekend.

Swift has also been debuting many songs from her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, in this section since its release, so it’s likely she will play some tracks from that album during her stint in Dublin.

What will she play?

Swift has been sticking to the same songs — excluding the surprise set section — since the start of the European leg in Paris. She plays a number of songs from each album or 'Era', excluding her Debut album. The full 45+ song setlist is below.