As the Taylor Swift Eras Tour nears its end, a desperate German fan said she’s doing everything she can to find a concert ticket in Vancouver, including going to some pretty extreme measures.
Anjulie Haaser is a 31-year-old who lives near Frankfurt. She told Daily Hive she is prepared to fly to Vancouver, stay in a hotel, and see the concert of her dreams — but she hasn’t had any success in her efforts so far to land a ticket to see Swift on any of her three concerts, the last set of shows for her tour.
She said she has attempted countless times to buy a resale ticket to the sold-out shows, but they are going for upwards of EUR$4,000.
“I can’t spend $4,000 Euro for a ticket on StubHub. So I’m looking for a reasonable price, hopefully at face value,” she told Daily Hive. “The hard part is that a lot of people selling are scammers.”
When the Canadian Eras Tour dates were announced last year, fans rejoiced, but that was just the beginning of the battle to secure the highly coveted seats. Swifties had to face being waitlisted by Ticketmaster for the presale when tickets finally dropped. And when those who weren’t blessed with presale codes finally got access to the tickets, many were met with resale prices and potential scams, with some prices showing a whopping $17,000.
Despite there being lots of European dates, Haaser wasn’t able to get a ticket when Swift performed in Germany, with tickets selling out in the blink of an eye. She thought her luck changed when a distant family member offered their ticket to a Vienna show later in the year instead.
Unfortunately, just as Haaser and her mother drove into the city, she heard an alarming radio announcement about a planned attack at the Ernst Happel Stadium, where Swift was going to perform.
“I just felt so scared,” Haaser said.
All three shows in the Austrian capital were called off after government officials confirmed a planned attack on the stadium.
“When I read that it was cancelled… I was heartbroken,” Haaser said.
Anjulie Haaser in Vienna.
A last-resort
Since then, she has remained focused on securing a ticket to another show on the tour. Unfortunately, despite trying for months, she is running out of options.
Haaser said she’s also tried to enter any Swift ticket giveaways as well but has not been allowed to because she is not a Canadian resident.
“Because I didn’t want to give up, I needed to try a different way and I started reaching out to news stations and radio hosts… directors, event directors, promotion directors… stadiums, stadium sponsors,” she listed.
“I honestly might have sent out about like, 300 or more emails and Instagram messages.”
Still, she has not been able to get any closer to finding a ticket, but she is not giving up.
An “exhausting” year
According to Hasser, Swift played a vital role in her life, especially this year.
“Taylor’s a huge inspiration,” she said. “So I listen to the music every time in the car, also at home, and… it would be amazing if I could hear her in real life.
“It just means a lot to me.”
Haaser said she’s been a fan of Swift for more than 15 years. The artist has meant more to Haaser over the years because of her advocacy for gender equality.
The 31-year-old explained that for months, she had felt discriminated against at work.
“I’m in an all-male team so, and this made it really hard for me, because they didn’t really respect me. They kept interrupting me, not taking me seriously, one even raised their voice at me,” she said.
But when she listened to Swift, she said the empowering songs from Swift would make the work day easier.
“I felt like she was a good example to fight for yourself.”
@taylorswift13/X
Apart from feeling her mental health was impacted at work, Haaser added that she’s also had to care for family members who’ve had some health scares.
“My dad… was in and out of the hospital quite a bit. So I spent almost every weekend there at the hospital or rehabilitation center,” she said. “Then, in May, my second nephew was born sadly with a cleft.”
“Life has been overwhelming,” Haaser added.
While she loves and wants to continue to support her family, she said it’s been an “exhausting” time.
“It’s not just a concert,” Haaser said. “I was counting on that one [Swift] concert… to be one good thing… to escape the real world for a few hours.”