“I'm ready to sleep here tonight.”

There are those who crossed the ocean to see Taylor Swift live. Sisters Heather and Brittney arrived in Portugal one day ago. They came from the United States for Friday's show. “It's very hard to get tickets in the States. My sister basically managed to win the lottery in Portugal,” Brittney says. “To be honest, the ticket in the US is more expensive than ours and staying here,” confirms Heather. The thousands of kilometers they traveled finally paid off.

The fans ended up taking advantage of the opportunity and spending a mini-vacation in Lisbon, which they had never visited before. By staying strategically close to the stadium, tonight they will exchange their hotel bed for a sleeping bag so as not to miss out on the possibility of securing a spot close to the stage.

In this improvised camp, people live together and make final preparations. There is no shortage of colorful beads and threads to handcraft these popular friendship bracelets. Joao has more than 200 bracelets to exchange with other fans during the concert. “I got into the queue around 11.30am. It's true that there were still almost 24 hours left until the concert, but I was shocked that there weren't many people yet,” he said.

The 22-year-old has the word “VIP1” written on one of his hands. Fans have come up with a way to reserve a spot on a first-come, first-served basis, depending on which region they have a ticket for. This is how they organize themselves in case they need to get out of line. Joao came prepared with a sleeping bag and food to last him the night. Later, more friends should arrive. This will be the first time he's seen the pop sensation live, but Joao won't be coming in the dark on one of the most anticipated nights of the year. “Tour channels make sure the fans are up to date with what's happening. That's why I know exactly which part of the stage I want to be on. Everything has been thought of,” he admits enthusiastically.