The Taylor Swift Eras Tour juggernaut has finally come to an end after 149 shows in 53 cities across five continents.
Leaving 10 million screaming fans in her wake, America’s biggest export can finally kick back and spend some of the estimated $2 billion she earned during her record-breaking planet-wide jaunt.
The pop star played the final show of her tour in rain-soaked Vancouver, where she told her audience that these shows had been “the most exciting, powerful, electrifying, intense, most challenging” experience of her life.
We’ll be the first to admit that we haven’t always been kind to the phenom that is Taylor Swift. The tallest trees get the most wind, and despite being hounded and judged and reported on by every single news site on Earth for the last year, Swift has managed to largely steer clear of controversy while donating millions to charitable causes and mesmerising millions.
So, for the record: While we may not enjoy all of her music all the time, Taylor Swift is an Icon and the best role model for young people to come out of America in years. Tip of the hat to you, Taylor.
Swift, 34, began the Eras Tour all the way back in March last year in Glendale, Arizona. In a five-star review for The Independent, critic Kelsey Barnes noted how the singer seemed “as liberated as she’s ever been” as she delivered a 44-song setlist spanning three hours and 15 minutes.
The Grammy-winning artist repeated this amazing feat another 148 times, with each show being better than the previous. At the same time, the Eras Tour made international headlines for becoming the first tour in history to surpass $1 billion (R18 billion) in ticket sales, but at its conclusion, The New York Times reports that this figure stands at $2 billion in ticket sales, confirmed by her production company, Taylor Swift Touring.
On top of this, it is estimated that merchandise alone will have brought in an extra $400 million.
Taylor’s tour was so popular that it caused the Ticketmaster website to crash, which prompted a hearing into the company’s practices, during which US senators ripped into executives using Swift’s own lyrics.
In January last year, Democrat Richard Blumenthal, from Connecticut, used Swift’s lyrics to address Joe Berchtold – president of Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation – with the 76-year-old proclaiming: “Ticketmaster ought to look in the mirror and say: ‘I’m the problem. It’s me.’”
While her name and lyrics were used as both inspiration and a weapon, Swift herself has earned praise for her generosity during this tour, donating millions to food banks in the cities where she performed.
She has released three albums during the Eras Tour and her three-hour concert film, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, sold around $93 million in tickets during its opening weekend. In December 2023, her staggering achievements in the music industry were also acknowledged by Time magazine, which named Swift its Person of the Year.
Swift’s last show included a set spanning 18 years’ worth of songwriting, and as the final notes rang out, she embraced her dancers and they left the stage together. Over the past two years, Swift also gave out $197 million in bonuses to everyone working on her Eras Tour, including truck drivers, caterers, dancers and musicians. The lady leaves one hell of a legacy behind.
It’s fair to say that Taylor Swift has been one of the most inspirational people to grace our newsfeeds the last year, and in a world that seems to have become meaner by the day, she gave hope and joy to millions of people looking to escape the depressing year that was 2024.
Have a good rest, and thanks for letting us bask in your sunshine for a while.
