Taylor Swift fans give Harry Styles hometown tours boost

Tours of Harry Styles' hometown have been boosted by the arrival of "a wave of Swifties" ahead of Taylor Swift's shows in Liverpool.

Organisers of the guided walking tours of Holmes Chapel, where the One Direction star grew up, have added an extra weekend tour due to "overwhelming demand".

Swift and Styles were spotted on a date together at a Chinese restaurant in the Cheshire village in 2012.

Gail Griggs of the Holmes Chapel Partnership said the "electrifying atmosphere" generated by Swift's concerts had led to a surge in ticket sales for the Harry Styles tours.

Fans of both stars, known as 'Swifties' and 'Harries', will be able to "retrace the footsteps of Taylor's memorable visit" to the village in 2012, Ms Griggs said.

More than 5,000 fans visited Holmes Chapel in 2023.

The not-for-profit volunteer group, Holmes Chapel Partnership, launched Styles-themed walking tours last month.

They take fans on a guided tour lasting several hours, taking in sites such as Twemlow Viaduct, where the singer had his first kiss, and Mandeville's bakery, where he worked part-time.

Ms Griggs said an extra tour had been scheduled for Saturday morning after others had sold out.

She said the partnership was "thrilled" to be catering for the extra demand caused by the excitement of Swift's shows, which has "swept across the North West".

Swift is set to perform three shows at Anfield Stadium starting on Thursday as part of her billion-dollar Eras Tour.

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