Taylor Swift recently found herself facing a Top 14 rugby club. A duel of two heavyweights, but with only one winner…
Opened in 2017, the Défense Arena is a superb setting with nearly 40,000 seats that the Racing 92 rugby club has invested in for its home matches. With its artificial turf, this venue is unique in the Top 14, and Racing is one of the only clubs to play permanently in an indoor stadium. The Paris Défense Arena is also one of the largest concert halls in the world. It was also with a performance of the Rolling Stones that the venue was inaugurated in October 2017.
But the multiple possibilities offered by this room sometimes work to the disadvantage of Racing, the resident club of La Défense Arena all year round. In addition to the thirteen championship matches and home European Cup matches, around forty show dates are added to the venue’s annual calendar. A nice influx of money for the club, which partly owns the premises, but which can also turn against it. With the installation of swimming events at La Défense Arena for the Olympic Games, Racing will have to play its last home match in Auxerre, at the Abbé Deschamps stadium.
But Racing is forced to leave the Défense Arena even before the next championship match. Because he is disturbing. He was in fact dislodged by the arrival in France of the American star Taylor Swift. Four concerts of the singer’s world tour are in fact scheduled for May 9, 10, 11 and 12. Before that, the Black Eyed Peas will occupy the room on April 20. Thus, the reception of Clermont on March 30 for the 20th day of Top 14 was the last truly home meeting of Gaël Fickou’s teammates for the rest of the season, since the last two “home” matches of Racing in Top 14, against Bayonne on May 11 and against Pau on June 1, will be held in Auxerre.
Racing 92 is not the only club impacted by Taylor Swift’s world tour, which fills stadiums all over the world and therefore mobilizes the biggest speakers to satisfy its fans. The question had already arisen a few months ago for Olympique Lyonnais. The American singer will indeed perform on June 2 at Groupama Stadium, the date of the play-off match for remaining in Ligue 1. While in difficulty in the championship, OL could have found themselves in a difficult situation. Wales will also have to leave Cardiff on June 18 due to a concert by the American star, to play at Twickenham against South Africa.