After nearly two years and 152 shows across five continents, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour took its final bow in Vancouver last night. It will be remembered as a cultural phenomenon on par with Beatlemania or Woodstock.
It was also an economic juggernaut. When the first leg ended in 2023, it was already the highest-grossing tour of all time, earning more than $1 billion across 66 shows. After an additional 86 shows this year, the final haul is estimated to be ~$2.2 billion, according to Pollstar.
Fans traveled an average distance of 338 miles to see a show, per Vivid Seats, and in the US spent $1,300 on average for tickets, outfits, and more, according to the US Travel Association.
But wait, there’s more:
- Merch sales during the tour totaled ~$440 million, per Pollstar.
- The Eras Tour movie brought in more than $261 million worldwide, a record for a concert film.
- The Eras Tour Book sold a mammoth 814,000 print copies over Thanksgiving weekend, the most for first-week print sales in 2024. At $39.99 a copy, it pays to be a tortured poet.
Swift brought economies out of the woods post-Covid. The first leg of the tour contributed $4.3 billion to US gross domestic product in 2023, according to Bloomberg Economics, while Sweden reported higher-than-expected inflation in May, when Swift performed three shows in Stockholm.
What’s next for Swift? Possibly the release of her re-recorded Reputation album, and more time to plan Travis Kelce’s potential (early) retirement party.—DL