Wistful farewell

Taylor Swift: “Didn’t want it to ever end”

Taylor Swift plays her last concert of "The Eras Tour" on Sunday. The singer already thanked her fans at her penultimate concert in Vancouver.(Bild: Photo Press Service)

Taylor Swift's monumental "Eras Tour" ends after almost two years with a performance in the sold-out stadium in the Canadian city of Vancouver on Sunday evening. Before the very last show, the singer was wistful.

At her penultimate show of "The Eras Tour" in Vancouver, Taylor Swift thanked her fans above all. "This is the most fun, joyful, exciting, intense, powerful and wonderful tour I've ever done," Swift enthused, as can be seen in a fan video on X. The reason for this was her fans, who made every moment special.

Swift thanked her fans
"There's a reason why this is the longest tour I've ever done," Swift continued. "I've never played this many shows in one tour, and that's because I really didn't want it to ever end, because you guys have made this a wonderful experience for all of us on stage."

So she wrote a song line about making friendship bracelets, "and I came to the first show of the 'Eras Tour' and you guys were making friendship bracelets, exchanging friendship bracelets, making friends and now I feel like you guys have made friendship bracelets synonymous with the 'Eras Tour'."

That's really crazy, but just one thing she could list, Swift concluded.

"The Eras Tour" concert series is estimated to have grossed more than two billion US dollars with ten million tickets sold, making it the highest-grossing tour in history and cementing Swift's standing as one of pop music's most influential figures.

Overshadowed by terrorism in Vienna
However, the success was overshadowed by the cancellation of the terrorist attack in Vienna. The three concerts planned in Austria were canceled following the arrest of two suspected terrorists, plunging the Swifties who had travelled there into despair.

Despite the concert cancellations in Vienna, the "Swifties" celebrated their star.(Bild: APA/AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

Since March 2023, Swift has appeared on stage at around 150 concerts on five continents, performing the best songs from her 18-year career in three-hour shows in elaborate costumes. Fans traveled all the way, stayed in hotels, visited restaurants and boosted the local economy. According to media reports, the tour generated ten billion dollars in the USA alone.

Tour gave rise to new phenomena
In addition to the economic impact, the "Eras Tour" sparked phenomena such as "Taylor-gating", where thousands of fans gathered near the venues in the heat and rain without tickets to celebrate the event, sing and exchange friendship bracelets. Dancing and jumping fans made the ground vibrate.

Fans look back on unforgettable moments such as a piano that played by itself due to rain damage or the appearance of Swift's partner, football star Travis Kelce, at a concert in London. He carried the 34-year-old across the stage. At a concert in Los Angeles, she presented Bianka Bryant, the daughter of basketball legend Kobe Bryant who died in a helicopter crash in 2020, with her iconic black hat.

Last show without Kelce
According to media reports, Kelce will not be at her last show on Sunday evening. However, her fans are planning to sing "Happy Birthday" for Swift - just a few days before she turns 35 on December 13.