Taylor Swift delivers final performance in record-breaking Eras Tour
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
American singer Taylor Swift closed off her Eras Tour in Vancouver, with a last show on Dec 8.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
TORONTO - Taylor Swift took the stage in Vancouver on Dec 8 for the final show of her record-shattering Eras Tour, a cultural phenomenon that has easily become the highest-grossing musical tour in history.
The globe-spanning event kicked off in the US state of Arizona on March 17, 2023.
The show on Dec 8 in Canada was the 149th Eras performance, following stops in cities ranging from Buenos Aires to Paris and Tokyo
Swift appeared on stage at a sold-out BC Place stadium shortly before 8pm (12pm, Dec 9, Singapore time) and told the crowd “it’s feeling like a pretty cool night to be in Vancouver”, according to the Vancouver Sun newspaper.
Swift’s camp has not publicly released ticket revenue numbers for the tour but the widely cited trade magazine Pollstar has estimated the figure at more than US$2 billion (S$2.68 billion).
That smashes the record previously held by Elton John’s pandemic-interrupted Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which sold an estimated US$939 million in tickets over 328 shows spread across five years.
Beyond the concerts, Swift’s presence in venue cities has supercharged local economies.
Her second-last tour stop was Toronto, where she performed six shows over two weekends.
She generated an additional US$199 million in economic activity in Canada’s largest city, tourism promotion organisation Destination Toronto estimated.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended one of the Toronto shows
In 2023, before the announcement that Eras would include Canadian stops, Mr Trudeau issued a public appeal urging Swift to come.
“I know places in Canada would love to have you. So, don’t make it another Cruel Summer. We hope to see you soon,” Mr Trudeau posted on X in July 2023, referring to a hit song from Swift’s 2019 album, Lover.
Not all the political attention Swift attracted during the Eras tour was positive.
Shortly after the US presidential debate between Ms Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in September, Swift endorsed the Democrat for president
That triggered an all-caps Trump post
‘Super Bowl suspense’
Eras also earned sterling critical acclaim, with reviewers praising Swift’s stamina and energy through shows that have averaged just under four hours.
The New York Times called opening night in Glendale, Arizona, a “master class”. The Vancouver Sun called the show on Dec 7, her third last, “spectacular”.
A setback came in Vienna in the summer of 2024, when three shows were cancelled
And tragedy struck when a fan died from heat exhaustion during a show in Rio de Janeiro in November in 2023.
Unprecedented ticket demand led to frustration for many fans and forced Ticketmaster initially to scrap presale plans.
Eras also included a “will she, won’t she” moment of suspense that transcended the world of pop music.
The question was whether Swift had enough time
It is rare for a non-football storyline to dominate discussion ahead of America’s premier sporting event.
But concern about Swift’s schedule was so acute that the Japanese embassy in Washington issued a statement affirming she would “comfortably” make the game
From a private box, along with Kelce’s mother, Donna, Swift chugged a beer and watched the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers as more than 200 million TV viewers watched her. AFP
