It's been a long time coming - Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour will finally arrive in Dublin this week. The superstar will play the Aviva Stadium in Dublin for three nights this weekend and I'm so excited to be attending tomorrow. I've spent the past few weeks planning alongside those I'm attending with, thinking about what we'll wear, how many friendship bracelets we need to make, which songs she'll play, and more. It's become a constant in my life but I'm not alone - it seems like the whole country, regardless of whether they're attending the concert or not, is in the grips of Taylor Swift fever.
One thing I'm really loving is how brands and businesses are leaning into the hype. Bunsen are giving away tickets based on Taylor-themed TikToks with their menu cards, Supermac's is giving free chicken tenders to anyone called Taylor tomorrow - plus they produced a very funny video of a team member feeding them to a Taylor Swift cut out - and Centra at The Oval in Ballsbridge, which is basically right beside the Aviva, will reportedly be giving away a limited number of friendship bracelets.
Even better, the number of Taylor Swift-themed events taking place this weekend is truly remarkable. Fodder at Avoca is hosting a pre-concert brunch, while NoLiTa will hold a full day brunch event with a quiz and garden party on Sunday, and there will be karaoke brunch at The DL Bar & Restaurant this weekend too. Other events, like paint a mug, friendship bracelet tutorials, Taylor-themed spinning classes and more, have also been scattered throughout June - there's something for everyone, regardless of whether you won the great war to get a ticket.
I expect we'll see quite a bit of Swift-themed food and drink items around the country this weekend too, so keep an eye out for the French Blonde cocktail. Swift is reported to have ordered it at Rye restaurant in Kansas in January and declared it her new favourite, so those truly in the know will definitely be sipping this elderflower and grapefruit-spiked cocktail. It uses Lillet Blanc as its base, so I've asked the team at Lillet to share the recipe for this summery cockail and I've included it here for you to try at home in case you can't make it to any of the Taylor Swift-focused events taking place this weekend.
If you're attending the Eras Tour this weekend, have a brilliant time. I hope you love it as much as me - and if you try out this cocktail recipe, make sure to let me know what you think via our social channels. Have a great weekend.
