Friday is the first night of the final leg of Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour, and downtown Vancouver was packed with excited and sequin-clad fans.
Tens of thousands of ticket-holding Swifties descended on BC Place, joined by others downtown to swap friendship bracelets or just hoping to be a part of the moment.
Some fans Global News spoke with had travelled from across the continent and some from as far as Melbourne, Australia.
One fan told Global News they’d shelled out $12,000 to see the star perform.
The City of Vancouver has imposed road closures in the area, including sections of Pacific Boulevard and Beatty Street.
“If needed, we can be adjusting (those),” said City of Vancouver director of public space and street use Lisa Parker.
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“We’re in communication with PavCo and VPD, if they have any suggestions of anything that might be needed, but for now we have been planning ahead and feel like we have a really good plan in place.”
Vancouver police have not reported any problems associated with the event, but said they will be watching for crowds forming where they shouldn’t be.
“We’ll maintain that presence to keep people safe,” spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison said.
“(We have) 700 officers deployed through the weekend. We’ll deploy more if we need to. Our only objective is to make sure people are safe, have fun, and a memorable weekend.”
Swifties appear to have heeded TransLink’s call to use its services as their “getaway car” for the show, with a high volume of transit passengers in the area.
The transit agency has increased service frequency on bus, SeaBus and SkyTrain, and has deployed extra staff.
“Plan ahead give yourself extra time, especially plan for how you’re going to get home from the concert and have your return ticket ready, so whether that’s pre-loading your compass card, or using a credit card or Interac debit,” TransLink spokesperson Tina Lovgreen said.
While people are being urged to leave their cars at home, anyone who must drive downtown should have their parking situation sorted out ahead of time.
Street parking areas in several parts of the downtown core have been temporarily changed to drop-off-only zones, while surrounding parking lots are charging event rates — some as high as $150 for the day.
And while a scant few hotel rooms remain available in the city, they too have seen costs surge. Some standard rooms have been reported as costing as much as $3,000.
Swift is set to close out her Eras Tour with shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
