Hundreds of thousands of Swifties are expected to descend on the streets of Toronto over the next two weeks as the city welcomes Taylor Swift.
The global pop star will bring his ‘Eras Tour’ to the Roger Center over the next two Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays for a series of shows.
Tickets for the now sold-out shows initially went on sale in 2023, and although Ticketmaster released an unknown quantity last week, your chances of purchasing them there have likely passed.
Instead, those who are interested are left with few options such as purchasing tickets on secondary resale sites like Stubhub or Seatgeek or trying their luck at other options such as contests or raffles.
On Stubhub, the cheapest ticket you can find on Thursday night is $2,678, but that will simply get you to the Corona Rooftop Patio, which is standing room only with an obstructed view.
If you want a seat in the stadium with a clear view, it will cost you $2,830.
From there, prices rise fairly quickly into the tens of thousands of dollars, with the highest offer being a VIP hotel package with four tickets for $24,173.
For those criticizing the prices, the company also lists recently sold tickets whose buyers paid more than $5,000 for a seat to Thursday night’s show.
If you really want to get close to the stage, you can head over to Seatgeek, where someone is looking to raise $32,978 for a floor seat for Saturday night’s show.
Receive the latest national news
For news affecting Canada and around the world, sign up to receive breaking news alerts delivered directly to you as it happens.
A Stubhub spokesperson told Global News in an email that there are “buyers from 47 countries (excluding the United States and Canada) attending the Toronto shows.”
They also said that outside of Miami, the Toronto shows are the biggest sellers of the ‘Eras’ tour, which is also outperforming Swift’s Reputation Tour 26-1.
The company recommends purchasing early, as prices may not drop on the day of the show as some might think they would.
“Some people might think that waiting until the last day before the concert might lower prices, but that’s not what we’ve been seeing so far,” they wrote.
Toronto’s streets will be packed as hordes of people are expected to visit the city for the shows, which has also caused restaurants to be booked out for months and hotel prices to skyrocket.
Music industry veteran Eric Alper has been in the business for three decades and can’t remember any other artist causing such a stir.
“I was around when Michael Jackson was at his peak in the mid-80s as a fan and as a teenager. And that was important because we all watched the same things and read the same things,” he said, noting that the big difference is that audiences are very segmented today.
“It’s surprising to me because we’re all in different compartments now. We don’t all read the same thing. “We don’t all hear the same thing,” he explained.
“It’s entirely possible that you can go through life without hearing a single Taylor Swift song, but that doesn’t negate the fact that she has touched so many aspects of people’s lives that no one else has.”
If you don’t want to sell your house or a kidney to see the must-see event of the year, there are a couple of other charity options you can roll the dice on.
Two Toronto hospitals, St. Joes and Sick Kids, are offering giveaways that will give the winner a chance to see Swift during the second week of her shows while also winning some pocket money.
The Sick Kids fundraising drawing will take place on November 17, with the winner taking home two 100-level seats to the final show, as well as $10,000 in cash.
The fundraising drawing for St. Joseph’s Hospital will end on November 18 for tickets to see the show on November 21 and includes a 50/50 component with the jackpot currently sitting at more than $44,000.
Ways to participate in the Swift experience without tickets
Of course, one might assume that it will take a minor miracle to win any of the giveaways, so if you still want to participate in the Taylor Swift experience, there are other options.
There will be Taylor Swift-themed drag shows, a scavenger hunt at the Royal Ontario Museum, a cover night at El Mocambo to raise money for a cat rescue, as well as trivia events at local bars.
There will also be an event called Taylgate, which will offer Swifties the chance to listen to music, dance and make friendship bracelets.
Speaking of tailgates, the Kansas City Chiefs will be in Buffalo to take on the Bills on Sunday night in a battle between the AFC’s two best teams.
This could give Swifties another chance to catch a glimpse of T-Swift, as she often goes to games to support her boyfriend, who is Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
It would seem an unlikely coincidence that the NFL scheduled the game in the middle of Swift’s concert series in Toronto.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
