“We’ve been in this tent for five months,” says a 21-year-old Swiftie waiting outside Buenos Aires’ River Plate Stadium. The rumble of a mixing truck can be heard through the tent’s thin fabric, while a large group of ants hopes for a snack to fall to the ground on a nearby sidewalk. The fan prefers to remain anonymous, because her father doesn’t know she’s been spending many afternoons—in between working a part-time job and taking college classes—in a small, makeshift encampment alongside her fellow Taylor Swift loyalists since June. “I usually tell my dad I’m at a park drinking mate with somebody, or visiting a friend of mine who lives near the stadium,” she adds.

She’s hardly alone in her dedication. Ahead of Swift’s three Buenos Aires shows, which kick off November 9, as part of the Latin American stretch of her Eras Tour, hundreds of fans have been occupying four tents outside the stadium, taking turns in carefully planned rotations. Most of the campers have general admission floor tickets, and the goal is to be as close to the stage as possible when the show begins.

An internal spreadsheet, created by two organizers and updated by assigned administrators, keeps track of around 60 folks per tent. Most of them are young women, but no one under 18 is allowed. Based on a ranking system gathering everybody’s total time, the longer you’ve been in a tent, the higher the chances of being one of the first in line. A fan named Carmen tells me she’s spent more than 300 total hours, or 12-and-a-half days, in the tents.

These rules, which were leaked online in June and went viral soon after, detail the incentives: Camping during a storm grants you double the hours (rain and drizzle, however, don’t count), as does spending a full night. In fact, sleepovers are now mandatory at least once a month, alongside a minimum of 60 monthly hours, to maintain one’s spot.

18 hours agoNovember 2, 2023