taylorgating? here's where fans without tickets to the eras tour are planning to gather in vancouver
some swifties will gather as close as they can to experience the last gasps of the eras tour.
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taylor swift.
chris pizzello
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ap photo
ticketless fans hoping to gather outside of b.c. place to hear taylor swift’s the eras tour will have to go a little further from the venue than they had likely planned. in a joint statement issued by the city of vancouver, the vancouver police department, translink and the venue on thursday, it was noted that “b.c. place and its surrounding areas will be strictly limited to ticket holders. fans without tickets are strongly advised to avoid the stadium vicinity on event nights.”
instead, “taylorgating,” as the phenomenon of fans gathering outside swift concerts is known, will have to occur elsewhere.
“what we’re probably going to see is a lot of swifties gathering in the area of science world, along the promenade between creekside and hinge parks,” said local fan jenny scribani, naming two spots in northeast false creek.
“my sister-in-law lives near there, and in september she and her friends sat in hinge park and listened to the p!nk concert at rogers arena. these swifties know the words like the back of their hands, so if they can hear enough of a beat they know where and when to sing along.”
scribani, who became a fan with swift album no. 8, folklore, released in 2020, has been chatting with fellow fans on social media. on her who’s coming to little old vancouver? subreddit thread, she dispenses travel tips and advice to visitors, some of whom just want to experience the excitement.
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“people are coming into town even if they don’t have tickets,” she said. “they’re hoping to get tickets or to just find places to gather.”
other questions range from requests for names of tattoo parlours offering swift flash (pre-drawn) tattoos to concerns about the safety of downtown vancouver at night.
as scribani points out, the area around b.c. place is going to be busy the weekend of the tour dates, and not just with swift fans. on two of the nights the vancouver canucks are playing just down the road at rogers arena, and cirque du soleil’s echo is on at nearby concord pacific place.
but the concourse around b.c. place will be off-limits. other venues, like wembley, have also discouraged the gathering of the swift army. there were no fan zones outside rogers centre in toronto for her six november shows either, but the city hosted events like a pre-party at the metro toronto convention centre.
but fans will fan, and swift’s followers will find a way to express their devotion, as they did in vienna.
following the cancellation of the singer’s three scheduled concerts there in august due to a terrorist threat, swifties took to the streets to sing and exchange friendship bracelets.
“i think when vienna happened and the concerts were cancelled, there was this big cultural shift,” scribani said.
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a former journalist, she now works in the tech industry as a ux manager.
“swifties gathered in the streets and started singing and dancing, and i have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of that, not just in vancouver, but at all future concerts. it’s now become a part of swifty culture. but especially because vancouver is the last stop, i see a lot of people talking about where to do that.”
at least for one night, scribani will be able to do her singing along with other fans in the stadium. she is one of the fortunate 163,000 who was able to buy a ticket. she’ll be on the floor for the last show, on dec. 8.
it will be her first time seeing swift live — and perhaps her last chance for awhile. swift began the eras tour nearly two years ago, in march 2023. who knows how long it will be before the 34-year-old superstar decides to take on another major tour.
before starting eras, swift hadn’t been on the road since the 2018 tour for her album reputation. since then, she’s released five more studio albums, picking up fans like scribani along the way.
“this is the first opportunity a lot of fans have had to see her,” she said. “that’s one of the things that makes this tour so special.”
but at least scribani is ready for this one. she has 200 friendship bracelets to swap with fellow fans, wherever she finds them.
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“people are coming in who are excited to be here, even if all they get to do is hang out in the area. it’s their last chance to hear the eras tour, even from outside.”
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