How far would you go to meet your idol? You’d be surprised at the lengths people would take. Some concerts across Egypt, especially ones without seating, amass a crazy amount of fans.
One Egyptian fan of Cairokee told us how she ended up attending one of their concerts four hours early, having to endure scorching heat to secure a spot before they performed.
The thing is, that example does not even scratch the surface of what a fan can do.
When it comes to the fans of Taylor Swift, better known as Swifties, they will do everything in their power to be the first to hear every one of her new albums, nab her merchandise, and attend concerts where bands pay tribute to the artist across the globe.
Meet One Such Avid Swiftie
We met one such fan who didn’t just stop there but put her heart and soul into meeting her idol for the first time ever in her biggest global performance yet, the Eras Tour.
Her name is Mariam Ahmed. She has been a fan of Taylor for more than 14 years and was one of the few lucky girls who got to meet her idol.
Let us take a journey with her as she overcomes numerous obstacles to see her idol live on the tour that hopscotch through Swift’s nearly 20-year career.
Surviving The Great Ticketmaster War
You’d be confused as to why there is an entire section devoted to getting the ticket, a process that is self-explanatory. When it comes to the Eras Tour though, that is far from the truth. Getting the ticket is literally a game of luck. There are even online guides devoted to explaining to fans how to get the tickets.
For Mariam to get the ticket, it all started by opening a site where Taylor posts all the countries where she’ll be hosting the tour with a link at the bottom. You register for the countries you want to go to; they can be multiple countries. Mariam chose Spain, Italy, and France.
From there, the system placed Mariam in Lyon. The Eras Tour website then gave her a code to plug into the Ticketmaster website so she could be put on the queue.
You’d think the process would stop there. Once on Ticketmaster, the site crashed, not opening at all, which made them have to wait for the system to send them a new code to re-enter the queue. Even when they got in the queue, 50K people were ahead of them, and once they got to the website to get the ticket, it was sold out.
Then, finally, it happened… “We kept refreshing for eight hours until, finally, we secured two tickets.” Mariam described getting the ticket as “surviving the great Ticketmaster war.”
Nabbing The Schengen Visa
That was a massive hurdle, but it was not the only one. Getting the Schengen visa was not even close to a breeze.
VFS Global, the commercial company that helps people apply for a Schengen visa, was opening branches at Sheikh Zayed and New Cairo, so it was difficult to book an appointment.
Trust us, it was hard because, according to Mariam, she applied for the visa in November 2023 and ended up getting the appointment in March 2024. Fast-forward one month, and she ended up getting the visa in April 2024.
On that day, Mariam shared with us her wave of emotions, “When I learned that I got the visa, my heart was racing. I opened the door to the delivery guy, waiting to see the visa inside the passport. When I did, I couldn’t help but cry. I was getting so much closer to seeing HER.”
Piecing Together The Dress
When you go meet your idol, it is the one moment in your entire life where you will use every fiber of your body to look good. In Egypt, weddings are the ultimate occasion for young girls to hit up the tailor to piece together the perfect dress.
Guess what? Mariam treated the Eras Tour as if it were her own wedding day. With her chosen fabric in hand, she hit up her favorite tarzee (tailor in Arabic). Sitting with Tant Salwa, she spoke in detail about how she wants her to make a dress inspired by the Speak Now album.
“The reason why I chose this album is because it resembles the era I am living in now,” Mariam explained.
After one week of anticipation, Mariam picked up a gorgeous purple dress adorned with intricate purple flowers and delicate vines. The flowers seemingly popped out of the fabric, creating a vibrant, three-dimensional effect. It was perfect.
Queuing Up At The Stadium
Finally, the day of the concert arrived. It was June 2nd, and the location was Lyon, France, at the massive Groupama Stadium. Mariam and her friend had to commute for two hours to reach the stadium, which was doused in heavy rain.
None of that mattered, though, because she got to meet other Swifties, swap friendship bracelets, and chat about their favorite Eras for what felt like hours until the gates finally opened.
You’d think that Mariam wouldn’t face any more obstacles, seeing how she was literally minutes away from seeing Taylor, but there had to be one more hurdle to cross.
Before getting in, she found out that power banks weren’t allowed inside, but nothing was going to stop her. Mariam said, “To Egyptians, nothing is forbidden.”
Those power banks are their lifeblood, knowing that the concert is more than three hours long and every moment has to be captured on camera. So, Mariam got a little creative: “I hid it inside my shoe and acted as if I had a sprained ankle, so I started limping everywhere, and it worked.”
The First Look
It is hard to describe what it is like to see your idol. That is why many say there are no words. Time literally flew by, and all of a sudden, a tiny Taylor appeared, lights glinting off her shimmering outfit as she appeared like a vision.
“You know that feeling a kid has when they enter a toy or candy shop, that rush. That is exactly how I felt when I first saw her. Every conversation and feeling that mounted up to this particular moment was flashing before my eyes. Silly conversations with friends, crying to my mum for not being at the first day of her Eras Tour, and drawing her face all over my canvases.”
“I was crying, I was screaming, and it was truly the best moment of my entire life,” says Mariam, even tearing up as she recalls that special day.
It is quite incredible to see the extent and length one would take to catch a mere glimpse of one’s idol. Tell us, do you have such an idol in your life, and would you follow in Mariam’s footsteps to meet them in real life?
