Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has gained a reputation as a moment to remember in music history. The tour became the highest-grossing tour ever and has broken multiple attendance records at various venues worldwide. The Eras Tour movie received an unprecedented number of Golden Globe nominations and became the highest-grossing concert film of all time in the United States.
So now, with six sold-out shows spanning two weekends hosted at the Rogers Centre, this music icon and her monumental tour have hit our city. Here are some of the many ways that the Eras Tour shook up Toronto.
First of all, let’s talk about the street signs. The City of Toronto, in partnership with Rogers, created twenty-two ceremonial street signs to run the route from Nathan Phillips Square to the Rogers Centre. The signs all read “Taylor Swift Way” with their respective names underneath, including John Street, Front Street and Queen Street West. The signs will be donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank and then auctioned off to support the organization. The CEO of Daily Bread Food Bank shared that one meal costs about $1, so that amount of funds could go an incredibly long way for the thousands of people who rely on the food bank every day. Rogers has pledged to match the funds by up to $113,000.
Next, let’s chat about installations. All across the city, we’re spotting nods to Taylor beyond the street signs. One we’ve heard about is at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, which is fitting considering that the City said they were expecting up to 500,000 visitors to the city for her shows. Pearson created an Eras-inspired interactive display for fans to welcome them to the city. Located in Terminal 1, there is a motion-activated digital wall with nods to several of her albums. There is also a giant, 140-foot-long, inflatable friendship bracelet mounted outside Rogers Centre that reads “Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour,” which has made appearances in several cities on the tour’s path. It’s a fun nod to the worldwide community of fans created around the tour and is certainly a photo-worthy spot for concertgoers. Plus, mounted police horses have been spotted repping their own friendship bracelets, getting in that Swiftie spirit.
The City and the Toronto Police Service also took safety precautions to prepare for an event of this magnitude. Several roads around the Rogers Centre were restricted or closed entirely on concert days, and there was a significant visible police presence in the area. Both the TTC and GO Transit announced increased transit services to assist with the number of people coming in and out of the city for the shows.
Another major attribute of the Eras Tour is its significant economic impact. Several major news outlets have reported estimates of an economic boost of nearly $282 million. From airfares to concert tickets to hotels and general city-exploring-related spending, the 240,000 fans expected to have attended the shows will be eager to soak up the entire Taylor-in-Toronto experience. We’ll likely be hearing more from the City about the impact of the tour in the months ahead.
And finally, we’ll top this off with some other fun tidbits we’ve seen around the city that are recognizing the Eras Tour. Restaurants, including Oretta, Fresh, McDonald’s, and Nami Toronto, have celebrated the tour by offering Taylor-inspired menus or deals. Even the Rogers Centre’s in-venue menu offerings were spiced up to be Taylor-themed, such as having a “bejewelled” pretzel and cocktails served with a friendship bracelet keepsake. There has also been a surge in Taylor-themed events to attend, which have offered fun ways to get in on the excitement, such as friendship bracelet workshops at local jewelry stores, the Swiftie Holiday Hunt at the Distillery District’s Christmas Market, and the “Taylgate” at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
It’s been incredible to witness the impact that Taylor Swift has had with the success of the Eras Tour, and it’s been especially exciting watching its magic come to life in Toronto.