Will Taylor Swift be at the Superbowl after performing in Tokyo?

Taylor Swift could make the Superbowl in Las Vegas after performing in Tokyo, thanks to the International Date Line. Photo / AP

Using planes to travel back in time may feel like something out of a sci-fi film but one major celebrity will be using their charter aircraft to attempt just that.

On Sunday night, Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce led the Kansas City Chiefs to victory, earning them a spot in the Superbowl LVIII.

This year’s game will occur in Las Vegas, on February 11 at 3.30pm. However, Swift will perform an Eras Tour show in Tokyo - a 13-hour flight away - on February 10.

The question that many Swift fans are asking: will she make it to the Superbowl? So many people asked that “Taylor Tokyo math” began trending on TikTok while “Will Taylor Swift be at the Super Bowl?” was a top Google search trend, the Washington Post reported.

The Tokyo show does not appear to have any opening acts and begins at 6pm. Since Swift tends to perform for 3 hours, she’d likely finish about 9pm.

Even if she got to an airport by 10pm, few airlines would run a 1am flight or a non-stop one.

Fortunately, the star could perform her show, go to sleep and even explore Japan the following morning before boarding a 5.30pm charter flight on January 11, and make the 3.30pm kickoff.

The trick lies in the direction she’d travel (east) and the international date line.

The international date line is an invisible boundary that runs from pole to pole marking the line between two calendar days.

So, if you travel eastward across the line, the date decreases by one day (you ‘gain’ a day). If you travel westward, the date increases by one day (you ‘lose’ a day).

Since Swift is travelling east, she could board a plane in Japan at 5.30pm on January 11 Japan Standard Time and it would be 12.30am on January 11 in Las Vegas. Fast forward 13 hours, and she lands at 1.30pm, in time for the game.

Whether Swift will choose to time travel and attend the game is a question no one will know for certain until the day. However, one person said many will be closely tracking the flight if she does.

the world is about to track taylor swift’s flight from tokyo to vegas like she’s santa claus on christmas eve just to make sure she’s making good time

— gabafool (@idkjustyelling) January 29, 2024

“T]he world is about to track Taylor Swift’s flight from Tokyo to Vegas like she’s Santa Claus on Christmas Eve just to make sure she’s making good time,” someone wrote on X (formerly Twitter).