Taylor Swift kicks off final Eras Tour show in Vancouver

CNN
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Taylor Swift has taken the stage for the final Eras Tour concert, marking the end of a significant chapter in modern music history.

On stage Sunday night in Vancouver for the last of three shows in the city, Swift told her audience that the Eras Tour has been performed for over 10 million people throughout its epic run.

Swift said the fans made the tour “into something completely unrecognizable from anything I’ve ever done in my life, with your traditions, with your passion, the way you care about this tour.”

“That is, I think, the lasting legacy of this tour…that you have created such a space of joy and togetherness and love,” she added.

Swift announced the Eras Tour after the 2022 release of her 10th album “Midnights.” It was her first tour since 2018’s Reputation Stadium Tour and began in March 2023 in Glendale, Arizona.

The three-hour show was a quick sellout, with fans clamoring to witness it in person. Tickets were in such high demand at the time they went on sale that Ticketmaster infamously crashed, resulting in a congressional hearing after two dozen fans filed a lawsuit claiming that the ticketing site and its parent company Live Nation violated antitrust laws.

With a fully-loaded 44-song setlist as her guide, Swift used the Eras Tour to travel through time, performing songs from each album released during her 18-year career.

During the tour’s run, Swift released three albums – “The Tortured Poets Department” and two re-recorded “Taylor’s Version” releases.

Coming out of the pandemic, the Eras Tour came at a time when people needed it most and left an indelible mark on each city the show came to.

The tour drew so much fervor that it boosted local economies, caused earthquakes and hosted everyone from Prince William to Emma Stone, and so many more.

Swift’s boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce even made a cameo on stage during a July show at London’s Wembley Stadium in the “TTPD” portion of the set, which she revamped her setlist to include after the album came out in April.

The tour also spawned her box office hit “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film that premiered in theaters in October 2023, earning about $96 million during its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, and $32 million internationally, according movie theater chain AMC.

The official figures of how much money the Eras Tour grossed have not been released but it’s been estimated that the tour will make over $2 billion, making it the highest-grossing tour in history.

The current record-holder is Elton John, whose Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour grossed over $900 million.

On Saturday, Swift acknowledged to end of the tour, telling the audience it was “the most fun, joyful, exciting, intense, powerful, wonderful tour I’ve ever done,” according to footage posted online.

“I’ve never played this many shows on a tour before,” she added. “I just never wanted it to end because you guys have made it into such a wonderful experience for all of us on stage.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.