By Abby Rosenstock

Over the past several months, Taylor Swift has taken the world by storm with her worldwide Eras Tour. Out of all of Swift’s tours, the Eras Tour is now said to be the most expansive, with the most tour dates. When Swift first announced the tour, she announced 146 tour dates, spanning five continents and several countries, including Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Australia, and more. 

Taylor Swift at the Speak Now World Tour in Australia in 2012. Photo credit: Eva Rinaldi on Wikimedia.

Carter Meagher (‘23) documented the beginnings of Swift’s tour in early spring in The Match. Meagher wrote about the infamous Ticketmaster debacle, where many fans faced trouble while trying to purchase tickets for Swift’s Eras Tour. While this issue caused chaos among fans, it also made them more excited for the tour, as tickets were so exclusive and hard to get. Since March, Swift has finished up the United States leg of her tour and has begun the South American leg. Not only has this tour been a “once in a lifetime experience,” says Meredith Lanning (‘24), who saw Swift perform in Atlanta, Georgia on April 29, but it has also become a contender to be one of the highest-grossing tours of all time.

Currently, The Eras Tour is predicted to bring in an estimated $2.2 billion. This number would be higher than the current highest-grossing tour, Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. Over five years, between 2018 and 2023, this tour brought in a colossal $887 million. According to statistics collected from the United States leg of The Eras Tour, the average ticket price was $455.78. This is a significant increase from the average ticket price of Swift’s previous stadium tour. Her previous tour, for her album titled Reputation, had an average ticket price of $157. The average attendance for each show of The Eras Tour has been 72,459 people. This number is pretty similar to the average attendance from the Reputation stadium tour, since Swift is playing and selling out many of the same stadiums across the country, including State Farm Stadium (Glendale, AZ), Soldier Field (Chicago, IL), MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ), and several more. 

I had the opportunity to talk to several people who attended a show on this tour. Claire Curtis (’24) says, “I liked how it was split up into her different eras, but they were not played in chronological order.” Across Swift’s ten albums, she covers a variety of music styles. From her debut country album to her more well-known pop albums, and her more recent indie/folk albums, she covers several genres. Rather than opening the concert with her first debut album, Swift opens with her song “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” from her seventh studio album, Lover. She then proceeds to sing an average of 4-5 songs from each of her albums. 

Taylor Swift performing in Arlington, Texas. Photo credit: Ronald Woan on Flickr.

Fans who have attended a concert find it difficult to choose one favorite song. Lily Berger (‘24) says, “There were so many good songs performed, I can’t pick one favorite.” The variety of songs and genres made it so that this tour appealed to all audiences. While it seemed like the majority of attendees were female, it would be difficult for anyone to attend this tour and not be entertained. 

Lanning exclaims that one particular aspect of the tour that stood out to her was the light-up wristbands handed to every person in attendance. She said, “The wristbands made the large stadium of over 70,000 people feel much smaller and more connected.” These wristbands changed colors in accordance with each of the songs and eras being performed, which was entertaining for those in the audience. 

Ultimately, this tour has broken and will continue to break many records across the world. 

Featured image credit: Ronald Woan on Flickr.