“It’s me, hi, I’m the problem.”
As the Eras Tour begins its run of international shows, Thomas Bywater investigates the extreme lengths Taylor Swift fans are being asked to travel. All five million of them
When Taylor Swifts’ fans tipped the Richter scale with the 2.3 magnitude earthquake at a Seattle concert, it was clear the Eras world tour would rock the globe like a force of nature.
With 5.3 million tickets distributed over 84 international shows, across 19 countries, the touring concert is one of the most ambitious in history. It is set to more than double the number
of dates of the US pop star’s domestic leg since March - and cover many more air miles besides.
Playing to an average audience of 62,500 a night and sold-out crowds of up to 100,000, it’s a gargantuan production. Like the lyrical “monster on the hill, slowly lurching toward your favourite city”, the stadium-only tour would swamp most provincial towns.
But could Taylor Swift be doing more harm by staying away from smaller venues?
Playing fewer but larger concerts has had unintended consequences and caused a travel boom for south Asia and the Pacific.
The Swifties have been pushing up airfares across the Pacific ahead of shows in February and March next year.
Airlines are now adding extra seats to cater for fans booking airfares to concerts that could have been held in their home country.
The environmental accountability of a global stadium tour is a difficult balance at the best of times. However, despite distances of more than 6000km between venues, the Eras tour has been adding extra dates for Sydney and Singapore in response to high international demand.
It was a move that disappointed many fans, not least those in New Zealand.
Rather than moving the concerts, the expectation is that the share of Swift’s 950,000 international fans book flights and hotels to see a show.
The Herald has dug into every one of Taylor’s tour dates outside the United States to find the furthest distance concert-goers are expected to travel.
