Taylor Swift is one of the biggest superstars on the planet, so much so that rumours around her dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce boosted his jersey sales by nearly 400 per cent.
That’s why when Swift announced her Eras Tour, she didn’t announce just one show in Toronto at the Rogers Centre next year, but six between Nov. 14 and 23, 2024.
The news that Swift wouldn’t just be coming to Toronto for one evening gave “Swifties” across Newmarket false hope that they’d be able to see their favourite musician. However, hundreds of fans across the region were left missing out on seeing the 12-time Grammy Award winner.
“My daughters and I were very excited to find out that Taylor Swift was going to have six concert dates coming to Toronto next year,” said Newmarket mother Mary Schneider. “We signed up for the waitlist, and we crossed our fingers to get a Swiftie code. Unfortunately, we were doomed to the waitlist forever.”
This was the case for many Newmarket residents who were willing to spend money and time to ensure they got to see the pop star grace the stage of the Rogers Centre for one night.
“My daughter is a huge Taylor Swift fan and has been for quite awhile,” said Newmarket resident Corinne Roberts. “She was so excited to hear the Eras Tour was coming to Toronto but like almost everyone we know we weren’t able to get tickets.”
Many have found it nearly impossible to get tickets for major concerts in Toronto these days with the sheer amount of fans trying to get presale codes, having to sit in waiting rooms for hours, and having to compete with second-market sellers.
“I understand the reason why Ticketmaster and these big-time amazing artists need to be selling their tickets this way,” said Schneider. “If not the scalpers, second and third-party sellers will overprice the concert tickets for all fans. It really is unfortunate and sad because some of them got tickets and are now selling them way overpriced. Who has money like that?”
Knowing just how big the appetite would be for the Eras Tour, Swift is releasing a three-hour concert film for her fans to enjoy. The film is scheduled to have its world premier on Oct. 11 and will be released worldwide on Oct. 13.
“Domestic pre-sales for the concert film are more than 10 times higher than the exhibitor has seen for any other cinema engagement event as fans seek out the experience of an era,” Cinemark, a theatre chain with over 500 locations, said in a statement this week.
For the fans in Newmarket and surrounding communities who missed out on the opportunity to see Swift in Toronto, Cineplex theatres and the Stardust Drive-In will be showing the film.
“Canadians responded in a big way when we announced the presale in August, resulting in over 230,000 tickets sold to-date and generating over $5.1 million in pre-sales,” Sara Moore, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer at Cineplex.
While this may not be the same experience as seeing Swift in concert, Swifties in the area will be flocking to the theatres.
“When the movie theatre concert was announced, the excitement started again,” said Roberts. “This time we could get a large group of friends together, unlike the four ticket max to the concert, and not have to spend hundreds of dollars. Not to mention we can stay local and don’t have to figure out how to get in and out of Toronto.”
Schneider said when she heard that Swift was going to be playing her concert in movie theatres for a reasonable price, she went online to purchase tickets right away.
“This is an amazing idea for those who were waitlisted like us and who wanted to see her concert but don’t want to pay the prices of a scalper or other parties,” she said. “I know it's not the real thing, but it's close enough, and we are going to have a blast.”
Newmarket resident Danielle Lowe said that while she’d rather be seeing Swift at the Rogers Centre, this is the only option for many Swifties.
“So this is going to be treated like going to the concert,” she said. "Dressing up, trading friendship bracelets — I’ve made 63 so far — and singing and dancing during the show.”
For Roberts’ daughter and her friends, she said they’re treating it like the real thing as if they’re seeing Swift live in concert and wearing “era outfits” and making friendship bracelets.
“They plan on singing and dancing their hearts out,” she said. “We are very excited for a fun night. However, we still have our fingers crossed that we will somehow get tickets to one of her shows in November 2024.”
The Eras Tour theatrical concert film will be in theatres Oct. 13 at SilverCity Newmarket Cinemas and Stardust Drive-In.
