Swifties took over Toronto Thursday as they geared up for pop superstar Taylor Swift’s first Canadian show on her globe-spanning, record-breaking Eras Tour.
Swift will play six consecutive sold-out shows at Rogers Centre that had fans scrambling for a year to secure tickets and accommodations.
Thousands of lucky fans who found a way to attend were buzzing with excitement at Swift-related events across the city, many dressed in colourful, glittery, Taylor-influenced outfits.
Julisa Brace, a 25-year-old who came from Newfoundland and Labrador, said she paid $1,500 for a resale ticket to see the singer she’s been a fan of since she was eight years old.
“I just think it’s once in a lifetime. You can’t really put a price tag on something that brings so much joy to so many people,” she said.
Some fans travelled from the U.S. and abroad to be in Toronto Thursday.
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Caitlin Merrill from Winnipeg flew to Austria with her best friend to see Swift in August, only for the the concert to be cancelled following a foiled attack plot.
She and some family members secured tickets to the Toronto show just one week ago.
“It’s so huge. We’re super excited to be here. We’ve been listening to Taylor Swift since I was in probably Grade 2, Grade 3, so a lifelong fan,” she said.
“I’m just really grateful and happy that I was able to come to the Toronto show.”
The show is slated to start at 6:45 p.m. with opener Gracie Abrams.
Swift will also perform at the Rogers Centre on Friday and Saturday, then three more shows will take place on Nov. 21, 22 and 23.
City expecting 500,000 visitors
The City of Toronto is expecting up to 500,000 visitors during the nearly two-week period around the shows, including parents and travel partners.
Destination Toronto, a non-profit representing the city’s tourism sector, estimates the Eras Tour will bring more than $152 million in direct spending, and $282 million in economic impact to the city.
Swift will close out the tour by playing three shows in Vancouver next month, in her only other Canadian stop.
The dates were announced in August 2023, a month after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pleaded with Swift on social media to come to Canada.
The concert announcement set off a mad scramble for tickets and accommodations, with many Swifties being unable to secure either. Hotels and Airbnb hosts were criticized for hiking prices on accommodations for people coming from out of town for the shows.
The Eras Tour is the first tour ever to gross more than $1 billion US.