The Japan Times - Wax lyrical: Taylor Swift gets lucky 13 Madame Tussauds statues

In honour of Swift's lucky number, 13 of the waxwork museum's 22 branches will each receive a statue of the "Love Story" and "Blank Space" singer, in what it called the "most ambitious project" of its 250-year history.

The statues were inspired by some of the 35-year-old songwriting sensation's looks from her record-shattering "Eras Tour" from 2023 to 2024.

With 149 shows across the world over nearly two years, the tour raked in $2 billion, making it the most lucrative in music history to date.

More than 40 artists worked for more than a year on the statues of Swift, one of the most acclaimed artists of her generation with 14 Grammy Awards.

"This is the most ambitious project in Madame Tussauds' 250-year history, which only feels right to reflect the stratospheric status of Taylor Swift," said Danielle Cullen, the museum's senior figure stylist.

UK-based Swifties are well served, with one waxwork slated for London and another for the northern seaside resort town of Blackpool.

Another 10 will find a permanent home at the branches of Madame Tussauds in Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Nashville, New York, Orlando and Sydney.

The thirteenth statue, which will travel around the remaining museums, will begin its worldwide walkabout with a residency at Madame Tussauds Shanghai.

M.Saito--JT