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Taylor Swift's Eras Tour ends this weekend in Vancouver, Canada: a recap of Night 1
We may say we're fine, but it's not true. The end of the Eras Tour is upon us.
Taylor Swift's record-shattering show has traversed five continents and 51 cities. Fans have valiantly fought the Great War to get tickets, danced outside of open-roofed stadiums, donned elaborate outfits and tuned into grainy livestreams. Now the show is ending with three shows in Vancouver (...err Swift-couver), Canada.
Catch up on everything that happened at Friday night's show before we're all left asking, "How did it end?"
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'Flexing like an acrobat'
"Vancouver I love you so very much,” Swift said introducing her final tune. “This has been the greatest last Friday night of the tour that I could have ever imagined with you. Would you give us one more song?”
Skipping back to grab her magenta “Karma” jacket, Swift and her dancers ended Night 1 in BC Place Stadium. And even though she’s sang “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me” 16 times before (14 times with Travis Kelce in the crowd), she did not sing it Friday.
And then there were two. Confetti fell as the show drew to a close, after 2 a.m. on the East Coast.
Shop Taylor Swift Vancouver tickets
Made it to 'Midnights'
If you’re in the central and eastern time zones, you’ve already met at midnight, which is the era Swift is heading into. This is the culmination era of seven songs. During “Midnight Rain,” Swift gestured with two fingers, signaling the final two shows of the tour, while singing her line, “And he never thinks of me except when I’m on TV.” She’s been doing the one-handed countdown since the Toronto shows. Swift admitted her favorite song to perform out of the set list is “Vigilante S***,” which is a spicy, edgy number where she and her dancers perform a chair-assisted dance of seduction.
What did Taylor Swift play for the acoustic set in Vancouver?
Before starting her acoustic set, Swift admitted it's the one part of the show that makes her kind of nervous because it's different each night. She started on guitar with "Haunted" from "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)."
"I have to sing this next song at some point in Canada, eh?" she said before mixing in "Wonderland" from "1989 (Taylor's Version)." The song's chorus repeats the sound "eh," a common Canadian expression that can mean a variety of things.
Swift then moved to the piano, where she played "Never Grow Up" from "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" and "The Best Day" from "Fearless (Taylor's Version)." Both are sweet tracks about childhood.
See every song Swift has played in the acoustic set, and read about the six she hasn't.
All's fair in love and poetry
Halfway through the tour Swift added “The Tortured Poets” Department, which signals the 25-minute mark from the acoustic set. Wearing her “I love you, it’s ruining my life” white dress designed by Vivenne Westwood, the singer will travel through a religious institution, high school, a haunted house, an alien abduction, an asylum, a battlefield and musical theater.
In her official Eras Tour book, the singer admitted that a crew member is hidden inside a rover (the internet calls it a “Tayoomba”) during “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”
Swift said she planned the new set for about eight months and rehearsed with her crew in private before debuting it in Paris.
Taking it back to '1989'
Sparkling in a yellow top and orange bottom, Swift shimmied into her “1989” era set. Like a line from “Out of the Woods,” the superstar was in screaming color while the rest of the world and her dancers were in black-and-white.
Into the woods for 'Folkmore'
Swift has brought the “Folklore” cottage to the last stop. Her moss-adorned cabin designed by Ethan Tubman gets wheeled out from backstage following “Reputation.”
“It kind of feels not that out of place in Vancouver, don’t you think?” Swift said before “Betty” in her berry dress. You guys have your share of woods and mystical forests, and that’s all part of the imaginary world of ‘Folklore.’”
It’s become a fan tradition for the crowd to give Swift a standing ovation once she presses the final key on “Champagne Problems.” And Swifties are trying to spread the word and sing “Happy Birthday” to Swift during her Sunday show standing ovation, just five days before she turns 35. While most of the raucous roars last about 1-3 minutes, the longest on record is still the last night in Los Angeles on Aug. 9, 2023, when the crowd cheered for 8 minutes.
“I’m just feeling so overjoyed that we decided to spend our last couple of shows in Vancouver,” Swift said thanking the crowd. “You’re so unbelievable. I love you so much. Aw, my face hurts from grinning. Thank you for that moment. That’s the best!”
When will Swift play her surprise, acoustic set?
If you’re wondering how long until the surprise set, we have about an hour and 40 minutes to go. Swift has the rest of "Reputation," the “Folklore” and “Evermore” combined set, “1989” and “The Tortured Poets Department” left. The acoustic set should happen around 1:35 a.m. ET / 10:35 p.m. PT.
Big 'Reputation'
Ssssss! After a short 5-minute jaunt into the land of “Speak Now” to hear “Enchanted,” Swift takes us to the snake-riddled realm of “Reputation." Fans are salivating for the rerecorded album — yet to be announced — and hope she will reveal news about it at one of the shows this weekend. The singer wore a black-and-red catsuit for the first 131 shows of the Eras Tour. She mixed it up starting in Miami by sporting a black-and-gold suit.
And the '22' hat goes to...
We are in the r-r-r-red era! It feels like a perfect night to celebrate the third to last “22” hat recipient. The fan is chosen during “Love Story” when Swift’s team plucks the lucky one from the crowd and brings them to the catwalk. The singer skipped down the stage in her “This is not Taylor’s Version” tee to a lucky girl dancing at the end who had a similar "22" shirt that read “A lot going on at the moment.” Swift gave her a big hug and grabbed a friendship bracelet before placing her fedora on the fan’s head. You can see all the “22” hat winners here.
Dancer Kameron Saunders has a speaking line during “We Are Never Getting Back Together.” He’s mixed up his phrases in the bridge when Swift speaks the line, “I mean this is exhausting, like we are never getting back together.” But on Night 1 in Vancouver he returned to the original line, “Like ever.” Could it have something to do with all the film crews? Here’s a full list of Saunders’ sayings.
As Swift asked the audience if they had about 10 minutes to spare, she reflected on the Eras Tour and what it’s meant to her.
“This has felt different in every single way,” she said. “It’s felt like an escape to a planet where nothing but joy and passion and togetherness and camaraderie exists.”
Then she played her heartbreak anthem "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)." By the way, she’s played this song 147 times to sold-out crowds. That's 25 hours.
Camera crew follows Swift onstage
Is that a two-person camera crew following Swift onstage as she sings “Cruel Summer”? Yes it is! The last time fans saw a crew onstage during the main numbers was in the Los Angeles area when she filmed the first Eras Tour movie distributed to AMC theaters.
Find out more about the cameras in Vancouver.
In our 'Fearless' era
Are you ready to go back to high school with Taylor Swift? Get those hand hearts ready, we have entered the “Fearless” era. The singer appeared in the black-and-silver shimmering dress. Swift has said her guitar was bedazzled by her parents, Scott and Andrea, and brother, Austin. There is a “13” on the side. A special tradition during the “Love Story” number is fans around the globe have proposed during the bridge when Swift sings, “He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring.”
Taylor Swift leaves no doubt the Eras Tour is ending
During her welcome monologue in the “Lover” era, Swift yelled, “It means the world to me to have the honor of saying these words to you: Vancouver, welcome to the Eras Tour.”
As she thrust her hands in the air, she returned to the mic to confirm this is the end of the road for the bedazzled show.
"This is a little known fact, not many people know this,” she said in a joking manner. “It hasn’t been talked about very much, but let me give you some information that you probably don’t already know. Vancouver is actually the very last city that we will play on the Eras Tour. Did you know that?”
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And then in the next few breaths, she double downed. So any Swifties wondering or hoping for another show post-Vancouver, it seems implausible.
“This has been a tour of many traditions, it’s been a tour of many, many Friday nights, but this will be the last Friday night that we ever play on the Eras Tour, and we intend on making it count," she said. "What about you, Vancouver?”
Taylor Swift takes the stage in Vancouver
It’s been a longtime coming. Swift is officially onstage for Night 1 of the Eras Tour in Vancouver. The singer is sparkling in her blue and gold glittery bodysuit designed by Versace. Swift wrote in her official concert book released on Black Friday, “I decided to create the longest, most ambitious show I’d ever attempted. … My goal was for every fan to leave that show knowing I gave them absolutely everything I had. I made a promise to myself to be physically and mentally tougher than I ever had been before.”
“So it looks like a pretty good Friday night to be in Vancouver, huh?” Swift said immediately following her performance of “Cruel Summer.” As she pointed to the crowd of 60,000 and spun in a circle, thunderous applause filled the arena.
“Okay that was amazing,” she replied.
The size of the BC Place Stadium audience is comparable to her shows in Las Vegas or Stockholm. Swift’s book said 10.1 million total tickets were sold. The first date of the Eras Tour was March 17, 2023. The last date will be Sunday.
The Eras Tour is minutes away from starting
“In Ha Mood” by Ice Spice is playing. That means the dancers and bandmates are walking backstage and Swift’s production team is pushing her in a “cleaning cart” to keep her outfit out of view. You have about 8-10 minutes until Swift will be performing the first song of her set list, “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Price.” The order of the pre-show tunes is Ice Spice, then Lady Gaga’s “Applause” and finally Leslie Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me.”
Gracie Abrams opens the Eras Tour in Vancouver
Night one of the Eras Tour in Vancouver is officially underway. Gracie Abrams took the stage to perform her opening act. She wore a long, ivory dress with a high slit up the side and chunky white heels.
“My name is Grace Abrams,” the singer said with a guitar slung around her neck. “It’s so nice to meet you. How y’all feeling?”
As the crowd erupted in an applause, Abrams replied, “Me too! I don’t know how any of us are supposed to have the words to begin to talk about the end of the Eras Tour, but all I know is that I could not be more grateful to be in the same room as all of you tonight.”
Abrams has been touring with Swift ever since the concert returned to the states and Canada. “I just feel overwhelmed with the spirit with what the Eras Tour has gifted us over the past two years.”
Abrams performed nine songs:
"Risk"
"I Love You, I’m Sorry"
"21"
"I Told You Things"
"Let It Happen"
"Free Now"
"Us."
"Close To You"
"That’s So True"
Abrams introduced her final song.
“I have been really floored by the way that you’ve adopted this song into your lives and it’s very — how would I describe it — it’s quite petty, it’s kind of angsty," she said. "It’s very sarcastic, and it’s ultimately about not being with the person you wish you were with.”
Swift should take the stage in about 25 minutes at 10:50 p.m. ET / 7:50 p.m. PT.
Cameras litter the arena
Lights, cameras and smile! Wait. There are actually lots of cameras on the floor of the arena. A drone. A jib. A flyover camera. Addy Miller, who is on the floor of the Eras Tour, posted photos of extra cameras set up, similar to what she saw in Los Angeles where Swift filmed the Eras Tour movie available on Disney+. There is a massive jib, which is a smooth, swinging camera used in cinematography. There are also signs explaining that drones will be in use during the concert.
Spotify's global artist of the year
The holiday season is the time of year that Swift starts racking up accolades. Miss Americana has 17 nominations across 16 categories for the Billboard Awards. She has six Grammy nominations for “Tortured Poets” and “Us.,” a song with Gracie Abrams. And just this past week, Swift was named the Spotify Wrapped global artist of the year for the second year in a row as well as Apple Music’s top artist. The Spotify achievement was massive with 26.6 billion streams — if every one of those songs was 4 minutes long, that would be 106 billion minutes or more than 202,000 years.
Premier of British Columbia welcomes Swifties
David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, welcomed Swifties to Vancouver. “The wait is over!” Eby tweeted this afternoon. “I’d like to formally welcome Taylor Swift to British Columbia. We’re thrilled she’s wrapping the Eras Tour in Swiftcouver with three shows. I hope all those lucky enough to be going have a great time.” He shared the greeting with a cute friendship bracelet image. And before you Google what a premier is, Eby is a first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of British Columbia. A premier in Canada is somewhat analogous to a governor in the United States.
Swifties gather for live Mastermind event
Swift Alert is an app that launched over the summer of 2023 to notify fans worldwide of when the superstar would begin certain eras in the show. But then it added the addictive game Mastermind. Millions of fans log on to guess Swift’s different outfits and which surprise songs she will play. The app’s creator Kyle Mumma is in Swift-couver with his wife, Mia, and Betsy Sedlak. They are hosting an event at the Vogue Theatre tonight. Think of fans gathering at a sports bar to catch a heated game, but make it Swifties hoping to get the most Mastermind points. Tickets are still available for locals. And fans can still cast their Mastermind ballot before Swift takes the stage.
A Swiftmas Wonderland
While we wait for Gracie Abrams to take the stage, here is a fun way to pass the time. Check out the two suburban legends in Naperville, Illinois, who have gone viral for a second year for creating their own Merry Swiftmas House. Amy and Brian Scott are back with a larger than life-sized typewriter, a to-scale “Folklore” cottage and a tuxedo-clad Travis Kelce. Big Yeti is up on the rooftop! See the magical set-up here.
Police share safety tips
The Vancouver Police Department deployed hundreds of officers wearing highlighter yellow vests in and around the stadium. In a reel posted to Instagram, officers offered some tips for families heading to the Eras Tour like make a meet point before heading in, especially for groups who are visiting the city and stadium for the first time.
Doors are open
And in the blink of a crinkling eye the doors to the BC Place Stadium opened and concertgoers filed inside. Opening act Gracie Abrams was set to take the stage in just over two hours at 6:45 p.m. PT / 9:45 p.m. ET. The temperature in the cloud-coated city was 48 degrees Fahrenheit. Rain was expected to start trickling down with a 90% chance of showers happening at 11 p.m. when the concert should let out.
Is the Eras Tour over?
While fans may be reeling, asking, “Is It Over Now?” The answer is yes. Well, at least according to Taylor Swift. She’s said multiple times that Vancouver will be the final show. During the “All Too Well” section of the 100th Eras Tour show in Liverpool, Swift told the crowd, "This is the very first time I’ve ever acknowledged to myself and admitted that this tour is going to end in December.” That very last night will be Sunday.
Where is Taylor Swift performing tonight?
Just north of False Creek in downtown Vancouver, Canada, is BC Place Stadium. The British Columbia arena — with the largest cable supported retractable roof in the world — opened in 1983 and can fit more than 50,000 fans. Swift is the first performer to sell out three shows on a single tour. On the front of the stadium is a 140-foot inflatable friendship bracelet. Shawn Kolodny, a contemporary artist and sculptor, designed the jewelry for the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The art was then passed to the succeeding shows of Indianapolis, Toronto and now Vancouver.
Who is opening for Taylor Swift?
Up-and-coming singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams has been opening for Taylor Swift the entire final North American leg of the Eras Tour.
The two collaborated on the song "Us." on Abrams' album "The Secret of Us." This summer, Abrams posted a video of Swift putting out a fire in her New York City apartment after the two wrote the track. Now, it's nominated for the Grammy for best pop duo/group performance.
What time is the Taylor Swift concert?
Unless you are on the Pacific coast, it’s going to be a late night!
Here are the approximate times opening act Gracie Abrams will take the stage, Taylor Swift will perform and the surprise songs should happen.
PT: 6:45 p.m. | 7:50 p.m. | 10:35 p.m.
MT: 7:45 p.m. | 8:50 p.m. | 11:35 p.m.
CT: 8:45 p.m. | 9:50 p.m. | 12:35 a.m.
ET: 9:45 p.m. | 10:50 p.m. | 1:35 a.m.
Swift mania takes over Swift-couver
After flying into Vancouver, fans headed to see "Downtown Lights" scattered throughout the metropolitan area. Destination Downtown held a scavenger hunt comprised of 13 locations. Swifties who took photos in front of one or all of the light installations using the Stamp Me app were entered to get a pair of tickets. Most of the life-size letters spelled out Swift's songs: "Willow," "Delicate," "ME!," "Anti-Hero," "Red," "Betty," "Karma," "Shake It Off," "Down Bad," "Lover," "Style" and "Cardigan." The 13th was "Swift-couver."
Miguel Barbosa shared a cute video on Instagram dancing around the city in front of all of the locations with his fiancée, Katie.
If you have 18 minutes to spare?
Since February, I have traveled to four continents and eight countries to speak with fans about the epic and historic Eras Tour. The concerts have become a melting pot of Swifties who all speak the same lyrical language. If you happen to have 18 minutes to spare before Swift takes the stage in BC Place, check out this mini-documentary about the bejeweled singer's impact and how there may never be a concert quite like this again.
What it's like to cover the Eras Tour
As the official Taylor Swift reporter, I'm not being hyperbolic when I say the Eras Tour has been my job — and really, my life — for the past 13 months. I've posted 501 articles, made 42 television appearances, published 974 photos, edited 38 videos, filmed a documentary and written a book on Swift.
It all started with USA TODAY's viral job posting for the world's first full-time, dedicated Taylor Swift reporter in the summer of 2023. The memories I've made may be unique to me, but the overall themes are common to anyone who went to one or more Eras Tour shows.
You can read what it was like to travel four continents with this tour in a personal reflection here.
And even though this chapter is wrapping up, Swift is already working on her next project. In the foreword to her official concert book, she wrote, "See you in the next era." It's one I plan to cover.
Eras Tour books
Taylor Swift published her own official Eras Tour book including 500+ images from the show and new insights into its production. According to Circana's BookScan, which tracks the majority of print market sales, 814,000 copies of the book sold its first week. That makes the behind-the-scenes collector's item the second-highest adult nonfiction release after Barack Obama's memoir "A Promised Land" sold 816,300 copies in 2020.
Complementing Swift's tome is USA TODAY Network's "This Swift Beat," which follows the news, the impact and the fans of the songwriter's magnum opus. We haven't sold anywhere close to 800,000 copies, but we haven't given up hope!
Don't miss any Taylor Swift news; sign up for the free, weekly newsletter This Swift Beat.
Follow Taylor Swift reporter Bryan West on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Taylor Swift ends Eras Tour in Vancouver: a recap of Night 1 on Friday