Taylor Swift joined on stage by Niall Horan for debut Wembley gig

Taylor Swift was joined by Niall Horan on stage as she played her first ever concert at London’s Wembley Stadium.

Swift surprised her thousands of fans at the packed-out arena as she welcomed the One Direction star for a duet of his solo hit Slow Hands.

The US pop star, who will also play at the venue on Saturday before taking her Reputation Tour back the United States next week, shared her excitement at performing for the first time at
the world-famous location.

“I can’t pretend like this isn’t my first time playing a show headlining Wembley Stadium, because it is,” she told the crowd, grinning.

“And knowing what you could be doing in London on a Friday night – I spend a lot of time in London so I know there is a lot you could be doing in London on a Friday night – and yet, you’ve decided to spend your night with us on the Reputation stadium tour.”

Swift opened the show – filled with state-of-the-art displays, pyrotechnics, several costume changes and the striking addition of large snakes slithering up into the air from the stage – with …Ready For It?.

One of the show highlights was Swift’s pared-back rendition of Long Live and New Year’s Day while sitting at the piano.

In one poignant moment, she almost became overwhelmed with emotion and fought back tears as, between the two songs, the audience cheered for around five minutes, stopping her from carrying on.

Swift, 28, performed her classic hits Bad Blood, I Knew You Were Trouble, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and Love Story, among others.

Her support acts Charli XCX and Camila Cabello returned to the stage to join Swift for Shake It Off, much to the delight of the audience.

And, from her chart-topping latest album Reputation, she wowed the crowd with performances of most of the tracks, including Look What You Made Me Do – complete with a surprise pre-recorded appearance from comic actress Tiffany Haddish – End Game and I Did Something Bad.

Swift also explained her recent hiatus, telling fans she wanted to take a step back from the limelight.

“I took a few years off before I made Reputation,” she said.

“I wanted to figure out what my life would be like if I wasn’t in the spotlight, but I missed you guys so much.

“I did a lot of thinking about my reputation and its concept, what does it mean? Can it really affect your happiness if your reputation doesn’t match who you are?”

Swift’s Reputation Tour has packed stadiums in the United States with rave reviews, and she has now brought the hotly anticipated show across the Atlantic.

Swift has so far taken to the stage for two gigs at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium and two at Croke Park in Dublin.