19 Wild Things You Won’t Believe Cities Actually Did To Honour The Eras Tour
Taylor Swift is about to embark on her final two Eras Tour stops EVER: Toronto and Vancouver. I know, I can’t believe it either.
Throughout the tour, which started in March 2023, cities have welcomed Taylor in some really extravagant, never-before-seen ways — and Canada is no exception. So today, we’re gonna go through some of the most unbelievable things municipal governments did to welcome Taylor when The Eras Tour stopped in their city.
1. Toronto renamed a route “Taylor Swift Way,” replacing 22 street signs around the arena Taylor will play in. This includes renaming part of Queen St., because, you know, Taylor is queen.
2. The very first Eras Tour stop, Glendale, Arizona, was temporarily renamed to “Swift City.”
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3. Tampa, Florida gave Taylor a key to the city, and named her their honorary mayor…
4. …and Santa Clara, California named Taylor Swift their honorary mayor, too. They also temporarily changed the name of the city to Swiftie Clara.
5. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil put a t-shirt inspired by Taylor’s “You Belong With Me” music video onto the famous Christ the Redeemer statue. The shirt said “Welcome to Brasil” with a list of city names on it.
6. You know the Gateway Arches in Las Vegas? Well, when Taylor came to Vegas, the city lit those big arches up in colours representing Taylor’s albums.
7. Tim Walz, governor of Minnessota (and now VP candidate, of course), announced that the two days Taylor was in Minnesota would officially be celebrated as “Taylor Swift Days.”
8. Arlington, Texas renamed Randol Mill Road to Taylor Swift Way. They also gave Taylor a key to the city, and lit up these sculptures in front of City Hall in red (you know, for Taylor’s album Red.)
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9. You already know Taylor’s hometown, Nashville, Tennessee, had to do something special. They put up a plaque on a bench in Centennial Park, a place Taylor discusses in her song “invisible string.” The plaque says, “For Taylor Swift / A bench for you to read on at Centennial Park. Welcome home, Nashville.” On top of that, they renamed the weekend Taylor was in town “Homecoming Weekend.”
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The lyrics in the song are: “Green was the colour of the grass where I used to read at Centennial Park / I used to think I’d meet somebody there.”
10. In the most-recent Eras Tour leg, New Orleans hung up a huge friendship bracelet inflatable outside their arena, which said “Taylor Swift / The Eras Tour” (duh). And then, once The Eras Tour left New Orleans…
Caesar’s Superdome / Via x.com
11. …they sent the inflatable to the next stop, Indianapolis, where the it was also hung outside the stadium. How adorable is that?! Trading friendship bracelets between cities!
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12. This is a weird one, so hear me out. In New Jersey, there’s a long-standing, statewide debate over whether their official sandwich is called a Taylor ham sandwich or New Jersey pork roll. And during Taylor Swift’s time over there, the state’s governor declared the “Taylor Swift Ham, Egg, and Cheese” to be their official state sandwich.
Ezumeimages / Getty Images
Taylor ham, pork roll, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich on a kaiser roll with salt pepper and ketchup from New Jersey
13. Railway organization LNER renamed one of their trains, “The Flying Scotsman,” to “The Flying Swiftie” during The Eras Tour in Edinburgh.
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15. Not only was Liverpool, UK renamed to Taylor Town when she was there this summer — but they also set up art installation throughout the city for fans to enjoy, which they called the “Taylor Town Trail.”
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For example, one of the installations was a playable piano covered in moss, similar to the one Taylor uses in the folklore and evermore set in The Eras Tour.
16. Gelsenkirchen, Germany renamed itself to Swiftkirchen, and hosted a bunch of festive activities during Taylor’s time there. Plus, they gave Taylor a stone on the city’s Walk of Fame.
Picture Alliance / Getty Images
17. Chicago illuminated the Sky Deck and Willis Tower antennae to several colours that represent Taylor Swift’s albums.
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18. Bellevue, Kentucky already had a street named Taylor Avenue, which happened to be super close to the arena Taylor played at. But to kick it up a notch, they modified it to Taylor Swift Avenue.
Gareth Cattermole / TAS Rights Management / Getty Images
19. And finally, Minneapolis renamed their city to — any guesses? — “Swiftie-apolis.”
Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images for TAS Rights Management