Are you ready for it, Canada? With Taylor Swift's Eras Tour about to touch down in Toronto and Vancouver, the excitement is so intense, it’s impossible to shake it off!
From dance parties and bracelet workshops to karaoke train rides and themed hotel rooms, Swifties of all ages will have no shortage of ways to celebrate their favourite pop queen.
© Richard LautensAfter wrapping her U.S. tour dates, Taylor took to Instagram. “Next up: getting to finally see my beloved Canadian fans again!” Taylor will light up Toronto’s Rogers Centre for a record six sold-out shows starting Thursday. She will then head west in early December to Vancouver’s BC Place, where the superstar will play the last three concerts of her history-making 149-date tour on her good friend Ryan Reynolds’s home turf.
The extravaganza – which began last March and spanned five continents – is the highest-grossing tour of all time and the first to surpass US$1 billion in revenue.
No stranger to Canada, Taylor has performed here many times since first opening for U.S. country band Rascal Flatts in 2006 with just five songs at what is now Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. Four years later, she was back in the same place, this time as a headliner on her Fearless Tour.
But Taylor originally had no plans to take her Eras Tour north of the border, much to the disappointment of millions, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Hi, it’s me. I know places in Canada would love to have you. So don’t make it another cruel summer,” the father of three tweeted to Taylor last July, using her song lyrics in his cheeky appeal. “We hope to see you soon.”
Whether it was Justin’s plea, the plight of Canadian Swifties or the fact that Rogers Centre got an $8-million 5G network upgrade to “bring the best fan experience for Taylor Swift,” the pop star changed her mind and the country got its collective wish.
Not surprisingly, the concerts are expected to provide a surge in tourism, with City of Toronto officials predicting that the Taylor Swift effect will generate a whopping $282 million from up to 500,000 out-of-towners. It's also hoped that some surprise celebrity guests will show up, as they have at previous concerts, or make unexpected appearances onstage.
© John Shearer/AMA2019“Major events like the Eras Tour bring meaningful visitor spending to our city, allowing more communities and local businesses to share in the benefits,” Kathy Motton, senior manager of corporate communications for Destination Toronto, tells Hello! Canada.
In a show of appreciation, the streets between the Rogers Centre and Toronto City Hall’s popular public square are being temporarily renamed Taylor Swift Way. The ceremonial route will feature T.O. Poets Department (a nod to the title of the megastar’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department), with roaming poets, street stencil artists and a block party of movable giant pieces adorned with song lyrics.
The Rogers Centre, which is paying for the street signs, will donate them afterwards to Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank for a fundraising auction and match donations up to $113,000 in a nod toTaylor's lucky number 13.
Given Taylor’s romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, 35, an indoor tailgate party – aptly named Toronto’s Version: Taylgate ’24 – will delight Swifties on concert days. “Our event is by fans and for fans,” says event co-founder Joel Wolinsky. “I think [Taylor] would be happy about the community [aspect].”
Across the country, Vancouver is also pulling out all the stops for Taylor’s arrival – and Mayor Ken Sim is counting down the days. “This iconic event hasn’t just captivated audiences around the world; it’s been a huge economic boost for every city it has visited, drawing crowds like we’ve never seen before,” he tells Hello! Canada, adding that he “can’t wait to shake it off” at one of the concerts, alongside his fellow Vancouverites. “With three shows slated for early December, we’re set to kick off the holiday tourist season in style.”
In the spirit of giving, BC Place is donating more than 100 tickets and four suites to charities across British Columbia and will be working with fans to support local food banks because it’s “a cause that Taylor is particularly passionate about.”
