Swiftie’ is among the eight words on the shortlist for Oxford Word of the Year for 2023, which saw ‘rizz’ claiming the title.
‘Swiftie’ refers to an enthusiastic fan of the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, and the term has racked up an incredible 40.7 billion views on TikTok.
But this begs the question, which cities in the UK and Ireland are home to the biggest ‘Swifties’? New research by the team at Betway has revealed which cities are the most loyal fans of the global pop sensation.
To do this, the team ranked major cities in the UK and Ireland based on a number of factors, such as who is searching for Taylor Swift the most, who has the most TS-dedicated events, and how well she is doing in their charts.
The team then used a normalised ranking function to score each data point out of 10, which gave each location an overall score out of 80 to execute who reigns supreme for being avid Taylor Swift fans.
London claims the crown for being home to the most dedicated Taylor Swift fans in the UK and Ireland, as the city achieved an almost perfect overall score of 71.4/80.
The star will be wrapping up her Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium next summer, treating fans to an incredible eight shows at the world-famous venue.
Not far behind the English capital is Liverpool, whose dedicated Swiftie fanbase secured the city an overall score of 63.5/80.
The global popstar will be paying a visit to the city next year, performing at the iconic home of Liverpool Football Club, Anfield Stadium, for three nights during the UK leg of her ‘Eras Tour’.
Coming in at number three for the UK and Ireland is Dublin who proves that Irish Swifties are some of the most loyal fans in the world, scoring 63.1/80 in the research.
It will ‘Hit Different’ when Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour heads to the city’s Aviva Stadium across three nights in June 2024 where fans can dance and sing to their favourite songs live.
Claiming fourth place are loyal Swifties residing in Manchester, whose dedication to the award-winning star scored the city an impressive 55.2/80 in the research.
From Swiftogeddon club nights hosted at the iconic 02 Ritz to Taylor Swift-themed brunches, Manchester Swifties are spoilt for choice when it comes to events dedicated to the star.
Taylor Swift fans in Glasgow have shown their dedication to their icon, with the city appearing in fifth position with an overall score of 54/80 in the research.
With over 79,500 TikTok views for Swiftogeddon nights in the Scottish city, Glaswegian Swifties have proved they know how to ‘Shake It Off.’
Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, said, “Given that last year ‘goblin mode’ resonated with so many of us following the pandemic, it’s interesting to see a contrasting word appreciate rizz come to the forefront, perhaps speaking to a prevailing mood of 2023 where more of us are opening ourselves up after a challenging few years and finding confidence in who we are.
“Rizz is a term that has boomed on social media and speaks to how language that enjoys intense popularity and currency within particular social communities, and even in some cases lose their popularity and become passe, can bleed into the mainstream.
“The spike in usage data for rizz goes to demonstrate that words and phrases that evolve from internet culture are increasingly becoming part of day-to-day vernacular and will continue to shape language trends in the future.”
He added: “It has been incredible to see the public once again enjoying being a part of the Word of the Year selection.
“Seeing thousands of people debate and converse language appreciate this really highlights the power it has in helping us to grasp who we are, and process what’s happening to the world around us.”
