Downward angle icon An icon in the shape of a downward angle. Taylor Swift performed in Munich on Saturday. Thomas Niedermueller/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management, Felix Hörhager/Getty Images More than 40,000 Taylor Swift fans listened to the Eras tour performance from outside the venue in Munich. The trend, known as “Taylor-gating,” has become popular since Taylor Swift began her tour last year. Unlike other cities, local authorities and venues encouraged and facilitated the gathering.
Thousands of people who weren’t able to get tickets to Taylor Swift’s Munich show for her Eras Tour enjoyed the concert from nearby hills.
German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that local police estimated that around 40,000 people had gathered on Olympic Hill, overlooking Munich’s Olympic Stadium, on Saturday.
Fans wait for the concert to begin on Olympic Hill. Felix Hohager/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
Inside the stadium, Swift performed in front of 74,000 fans.
While addressing the crowd at the start of the concert, the Grammy Award-winning artists expressed their gratitude to the extra crowd that had gathered outside the stadium.
According to footage circulated by X Channel, Swift said, “There are thousands of people listening in the park outside the stadium.”
“I really feel incredibly welcomed,” she added.
The phenomenon of gathering outside Swift’s concert venues – known as “Taylor-gating” – began shortly after the star launched her smash-hit Eras tour in the US last year.
Fans gather in the streets, parks and parking lots near the concert venue to sing and dance to their favorite tunes blasting from the stadium speakers.
While some cities have urged fans to refrain from loitering outside venues without tickets, LBC reported that toilets and a drink station had been set up in a hilltop park ahead of the Munich show.
Videos shared on social media showed people filling the hill outside the stadium before the stadium was filled to capacity.
According to the Olympiapark website, Olympic Hill offers “stunning views of Olympic Park” and has been a “popular spot to enjoy free outdoor concerts” for decades.
He added that the hill would be available to “anyone who wants to sit on a picnic mat and listen to music from some of the world’s biggest rock and pop stars, free of charge.”
Representatives for the show venue did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment sent outside business hours.
