VANCOUVER, British Columbia — As Taylor Swift sings in her famed fan anthem “Long Live,” “Remember this moment.”
For her loyal fans, there have been many of those moments since the Eras Tour kicked off in March 2023.
Sunday night’s show will be the last of that marathon tour, which has spanned nearly two years, five continents, 50 cities and a remarkable 149 shows — each of which has featured Swift singing, dancing and glittering for more than three hours.
Swift said in June that the tour, which at the time seemed to be everlasting, would conclude in Vancouver in December.
The tour, which featured songs from Swift’s 11 albums, or “eras,” was marked by friendship bracelets, a revolt against Ticketmaster, a record-setting concert film and booming economies in nearly every city she touched.
It also featured a blossoming romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who appeared onstage in London and was mentioned in Swift’s “Karma” multiple times on the tour.
Over the 20-plus months of shows, Swift somehow had time to offer her fans three new releases, including two “Taylor’s Version” rerecordings to add to the collection and a fresh album this year.
When the tour kicked off in Glendale, Arizona, on March 17, 2023, the show included nine of Swift’s then 10 eras, opening with the “Lover” album — which had not yet been toured, because of the Covid-19 pandemic — and closing out with “Midnights,” Swift’s latest release before the tour began.
Fans were sad to learn her debut album, “Taylor Swift,” would not be a mainstay in the setlist, but plenty of its songs were performed multiple times in the acoustic set of the show.
In the first major surprise of the tour, Swift announced the release date for “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” at a show in Nashville, Tennessee, in May 2023 on her first of two U.S. legs.
She closed out that leg by announcing the release date for “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” at the final show, held in Inglewood, California — appropriately on Aug. 9, 2023 (or 8/9).
Swift then turned the show on its head this May as she embarked on the European leg of the tour, dropping songs from certain eras to make room for a new one: “The Tortured Poets Department,” which she released in April.
Those releases have prompted loyal fans to search high and low for Swift’s famous “Easter eggs,” hoping they might hint at the release of one of her last two albums yet to be rerecorded: “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” and “Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version).”
So far, no luck for the Swifties on that front, but that did not deter them from showing up in droves to each show, often in sparkly handmade costumes that alluded to her eras and lyrics, and even some Swiftie inside jokes.
One fan, Hope Pinc, dressed up as Swift’s cat, Benjamin Button, for the final weekend of shows.
Pinc and friends Melissa Peirce and Elizabeth Sanders traveled from San Diego to Vancouver, where they had tickets to all three final shows. Peirce referred to Swift as one of her “great friends” who “just doesn’t know yet.”
“There’s nothing like going to one of her shows and the endorphins and the love,” Pinc said.
Sisters Amanda and Sarah Cowley, both University of Victoria students, described the show as “unreal” and “incredible.”
“It’s insane the amount of tourism this brings, ’cause this is our home city. … I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” Sarah Cowley said.
Amanda Cowley said it’s “crazy” to be at the show as “both a fan and just to witness this.”
“It’s gonna be historic one day to say that I went to the Eras Tour,” she said.
Sean Stear, an Idaho fire captain and paramedic sporting a bejeweled “TS” and “13” on his bald head, said Swift’s music has brought him closer to his 11-year-old daughter.
He picked up overtime shifts to afford the $3,000 resale tickets for the Friday show, and when the first leg of their flight to Vancouver was canceled, the family drove to meet the second, he said.
“I just think she appreciates everything that she does. She found that connection,” Stear said. “And I kind of see it as like this is her Super Bowl-type thing. I’m big into football. She’s big into Taylor Swift, so we have that passion, so it’s awesome.”
Holden Williams said the Eras Tour brought fans a “community,” and she had a message for Swift.
“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me,” she said. “And thank you for creating all of this for the Eras Tour.”
Rebecca Cohen reported from New York City and Emilie Ikeda and Alexandra Hess from Vancouver.
