After all, the Eras era has spanned an epoch, at least in ever-quickening internet time. But after 149 shows, 10-plus million fans and several pop cultural takeovers, the Eras tour reached the end of its road in fittingly rainy Vancouver, having become the highest-grossing tour of all time at more than $2bn (£1.6bn).
Not that you would know it from downtown, which - like every city before it in the US, Australia, Asia, Europe and finally Canada - morphed into a temporary mecca for hundreds of thousands of sequined, jubilant Swifties.
Much has been said about how the Eras tour became its own two-year economic stimulus, but it is still staggering to witness Swiftonomics in person. According to the unscientific estimate of a US border agent who asked me how Taylor was before even looking at my passport, "99.5%" of vehicles crossing between the US and Canada this weekend were heading to and from the three shows. Light-up lyrics adorned the streets leading to BC Place; you could not go to a Starbucks in town without seeing women in Eras tour merchandise.
"The energy is just... I think everybody is feeling it," said Maline Davis, 27, of St Louis, Missouri, at a loss for words over the last show. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I just don't know that this will happen again."
This story is from the December 10, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 10, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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