Searching for signs: A ‘Tayronto’ transformation

by marika_gabriel | 24 February 2025 12:03 pm

Walk through Toronto, which transformed into a Swiftie haven, with vibrant murals, immersive signs, and pop-up experiences to celebrate the last leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

By Farheen Sikandar

The Eras Tour was Taylor Swift’s largest and longest tour. Kicking off in March 2023 and ending in December 2024, it travelled across five continents and had 149 shows. Each show was more than three hours long; it covered 11 albums (all of Swift’s “eras”), with roughly 16 outfits, and had a setlist of 46 songs. Grossing more than $2 billion worldwide¹—and being the first tour in history to do so—it became a symbol of success for Swift and the places where she performed.

Cities welcoming Swift went the extra mile to polish up real nice with multiple types of signage, murals, pop-ups, photo-ops, and themed spaces dedicated to her. Toronto was no stranger to this. One could not ride on the subway or drive past a highway without seeing multiple signs about “A Concert for The Eras.” Downtown Toronto was decked up for Swifties, and signage captured it all.

The “Taylor effect” referred to the tour’s impact on the economy—significantly boosting tourism and hospitality. Toronto, for example, was projected to make more than $280 million in revenue from the six sold-out shows at Rogers Centre.² With Vancouver, B.C., being the last leg of the Eras Tour and the only other Canadian city to host it, the economic impact of The Eras Tour was projected to exceed expectations there.³

Signs and displays lit up the city as Toronto fully embraced The Eras Tour—one of 2024’s cultural movements. This author set out to discover just how deeply the city had immersed itself in the Taylor Swift phenomenon.

Big reputation

Starting with the Swiftie staple on Rogers Centre: two giant inflatable friendship bracelets. Shawn Kolodny, a U.S.-based contemporary artist and sculptor, designed the 3D bracelets, which travelled and adorned each stadium. The friendship bracelets read “Taylor Swift” and “The Eras Tour.” The entire installation was 42 m (140 ft) long, and each circle, forming the beads of the bracelet, was 2 m (7 ft) in diameter.⁴

 

What began as a fan tradition of trading hand-made bracelets at the concert grew into a movement, with stadiums following suit towards the end of the tour. From the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, they made it to Rogers Centre in Toronto. They were installed at the last stop of The Eras Tour—B.C. Place in Vancouver.

Fun fact: The tradition of trading friendship bracelets came from Swift’s 10^th studio album, “Midnights,” which has the lyric “so make the friendship bracelets / take the moment and taste it” on the song “You’re on Your Own, Kid.”

Another name goes up in lights

Ontario-based POP Marquee set up letters spelling out “YONGE” and a heart symbol at College Park on Yonge St. Beside this sign was a pastel floral installation with friendship bracelets on it, flanked by an “89” (Swift’s birth year) on one side and a sequined backdrop on the other. This made for the perfect photo-op for Swifties, alongside a “parTAY” event at Sankofa Square.

Paint dreamscapes

When fans and visitors were near Rogers Centre and CN Tower, they were greeted with a friendship bracelet mural. Curated by Toronto-based chalk artist Jo the ChalkChick, the bracelet spelt out “TORONTO.” It featured vibrant colours—red, purple, yellow, cyan, black, and white—all reminiscent of Swift’s albums. Near the entrance of the CN Tower, the artist also painted a mural of Swift holding up a hand heart.

Life of the party

The most advertised event for those two weeks was Taylgate ’24 (Toronto’s Version).⁵ Taking place at Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC), walking distance from The Eras Tour venue, it was a paid pre-concert for all attendees and fans. It featured many food vendors and sponsors, a makeup station by MAC, friendship bracelet stations, photo booths, merchandise, and many dance parties.

So many signs, so many signs

Multiple brands and companies customized their marketing to appeal to Swifties, transforming downtown Toronto for the two weeks Swift performed in the city: sparkly, bright, and celebratory.

Every corner at the core of downtown was covered in static out-of-home (OOH) and digital out-of-home (DOOH) billboards, with Swift’s name covering all blank spaces. A key colour was red because Rogers is the official sponsor of The Eras Tour in Canada. Rogers’ official partner for the tour, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), also took over Union Station and painted it blue with ads.

All of this was combined with the City of Toronto welcoming visitors and Swift herself, with street signs dedicated to her, sidewalk stickers to guide international Swifties and visitors, wayfinding for concert nights, and a digital board at Union Station showcasing the city’s favourite song, album, and its anticipation of her sixth re-recorded album, reputation (Taylor’s Version). All the colours were inspired by The Eras Tour’s official poster and the concert’s themes.

With all the efforts and events held in the city, Toronto put Swift’s name at the top of its list. After all, it had been a long time coming.

Farheen Sikandar is an associate editor at Kenilworth Media and has worked for more than six years in copywriting and editing. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Toronto and an advanced diploma in journalism from Centennial College. Outside of work, she is an avid reader, dreamer, and full-time Swiftie.

Notes

1 Refer to https://www.npr.org/2024/12/09/nx-s1-5222234/taylor-swift-eras-tour-record-sales[7].

2 Read more at www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/swiftmania-toronto-1.7382427[8] and https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/taylor-swift-economic-impact-1.7352467[9].

3 Visit https://www.richmond-news.com/entertainment-media-sports/taylor-swift-mania-an-economic-gift-for-vancouver-businesses-9797125[10].

4 Learn more at www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/10/25/artist-explains-how-he-hung-friendship-bracelets-on-caesars-superdome/75820161007/[11].

5 For more information, visit https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/taylgate-the-next-best-thing-to-taylor-swifts-6-toronto-shows[12].

Source URL: https://www.signmedia.ca/searching-for-signs-a-tayronto-transformation/

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