The Eras era ends: A look back at Taylor Swift’s record-breaking, 21-month tour
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The Eras era ends: A look back at Taylor Swift’s record-breaking, 21-month tour

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour ended Sunday, marking nearly two years of sparkly outfits, friendship bracelets, and record-breaking sales.

The tour, an autobiographical journey through Swift’s extensive discography, started in Arizona in March 2023. Over the next 630-plus days, Swift performed 149 shows — each more than three hours long — in over 50 cities across five continents.

The 10 acts of the show represent different eras of Swift’s career, each with unique colors, costumes, and stage designs, plus two surprise songs during the acoustic segment.

 

Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift, pictured performing at London’s Wembley Stadium in August.

 

Surprises, setlist changes, and special guests kept fans engaged, with many following livestreams and fan accounts on social media.

And, of course, people watched in person.

Much has been written about “Swiftonomics,” or how the tour boosted local economies across the U.S. and around the world. Fans traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles, sometimes for more than one show, spending money on lodging, food and costumes along the way.

Their enthusiasm made history.

 

Taylor Swift
Swifties swap friendship bracelets outside Sydney, Australia’s Accor Stadium in February 2024.

 

The tour set attendance records at scores of iconic stadiums, from Pittsburgh to São Paulo. Swift also set records for the most shows by a female artist at multiple venues, from Chicago to Mexico City to Lisbon to London — where she headlined a record eight shows at Wembley Stadium.

Eras set an all-time record when it grossed $1 billion last December — the first tour to ever cross the 10-digit threshold — according to the concert trade publication Pollstar. And that was with one year still to go.

After her final Vancouver shows, Swift’s production company confirmed the tour grossed over $2 billion in ticket sales.

That’s not including the secondary market of ticket sellers (remember when a botched Ticketmaster rollout prompted a Senate hearing and class-action lawsuit against the company?).

 

Taylor Swift
Swift’s show pays tribute to the 10 eras of her musical career so far.

 

The tour also earned from merchandise ($200 million in 2023), Swift’s concert film ($261.6 million globally), and a $40 coffee-table book that sold nearly 1 million copies in its first week.

On her final night in Vancouver, Swift called the tour “the most thrilling chapter of my life” and credited her fans. Swifties created unique Eras Tour traditions, like trading friendship bracelets and clapping in sync.

Swift said, “The lasting legacy of this tour is the joy, togetherness, and love you’ve created. You’re why this is so special, and your support has let me relive every era of my music. Thank you.”