Canadians were left with their hearts full on the night of Nov. 14 as global sensation Taylor Swift opened one of her last Eras Tour concerts at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, with tens of thousands of Swifties from around the world swarming downtown in seas of sequins and sparkle.
The first concert of the Eras Tour up north was marked by a variety of special moments ranging from a standing ovation that left Swift in awe of the city of Toronto to police horses wearing the signature Taylor Swift friendship bracelets around their necks.
Yahoo News Canada put together a collection of key moments from night one of the Eras Tour in Canada that captured the vibe perfectly and made for those can’t miss moments when at a Taylor Swift concert.
“Oh Toronto we are so back,” Swift said during her performance Thursday night as more than 40,000 in the crowd erupted in cheer and danced to the tunes of her famous hits from albums like Lover, Fearless, Red, Reputation, Evermore and others.
Capturing Swift’s admiration for Toronto from another angle, an Instagram user noted how “insane” it was that the pop star will have to deliver the same levels of energy and hype for the remaining nights on her Toronto leg of the Eras Tour.
“The fact that she’s doing this 5 more times in Toronto is actually insane,” video creator Taylor Paterson captioned the video on Instagram.
Swift was seated by her piano on stage when she took a moment to take in all the glory Toronto shone upon her, not realizing that the admiration of the crowd would last for three minutes as part of an “extra long ovation.”
The artist seemingly went through a varying set of emotions — from initially not realizing what was going on to taking her ear plugs out and letting it sink in — as she strolled around the stage with her hands joined in gratitude before grabbing the microphone and letting the city know what it meant to her.
“Toronto, you know my band and fellow performers and I, we only get to play this show together eight more times after tonight. The fact that you would do that for us, I guarantee you we will never forget. Thank you so much,” Swift said before breaking out a rendition of one of her hits.
The sweetest moment to behold from the first night the Taylor Swift Eras Tour featured the artist running to a young fan at the end of the stage to hug him and give him the hat she had been wearing while performing her hit single 22 from the album Red.
Fans receiving the coveted 22 hat has been a tradition through different legs of the Eras Tour. Most are selected randomly, however, the story of the most recent fan in Indianapolis getting the fedora had been in the making for seven years. The gesture is known to leave Swifties feeling very emotional and the Toronto occurrence was no different.
“Every time she does this I get emotional – so beautiful!!” commented a fan on Instagram.
“That boy will remember that moment for the rest of his life! Good on Taylor,” joined another.
“Yay little taylor tot 🥹😭🪩🫶🏼✨🤍,” said a third.
One of the surprising highlights of the night featured videos and pictures of two police horses on duty donning friendship bracelets around their necks.
“Well that is just so damn cute,” posted an X user online.
“Throw glitter too please,” chimed in another.
Swifties wear bracelets spelling out names of Taylor’s songs or referencing her career, which has now become a tradition for concertgoers as they trade their friendship bracelets with friends and strangers at the shows.
The idea to wear friendship bracelets to the Eras Tour sparked after Swift mentioned the accessory in her song You’re On Your Own, Kid, which was featured on her 2022 album, Midnights.
During her Thursday night performance, Swift took a moment to thank the fans gathered in attendance and the city of Toronto, largely, for helping her have “more fun on this tour than I have had on any other tour in my life.”
“I love you so much there was never going to be a time we didn’t come to see you guys,” Swift shared emphatically mid-performance.
“You guys have turned this into something that feels more than just a concert for me atleast. You have all these traditions you started. You turned it into a full event. Like the way the city of Toronto embraced us and welcomed us. We notice all of that. It’s so heartening. It’s so different than any experience I have had before.”
Towards the end of the show, Swift also revealed the reason behind why the artist and her team wanted Canada to be the place where they bring the Eras Tour to an end.
“I really wanna spend those last shows with the most generous, encouraging, welcoming, passionate, excitable fans. So we came to see you in Toronto.”
The American artist’s sweater-weather album, Folklore, which explores themes of escapism, nostalgia, and romanticism, might be best suited for the north, according to Swift.
“Doesn’t it seem like the Folklore, the entire Folklore era just belongs in Canada? It just does,” said on stage.
Swift went on to share that the kind of place she envisioned that Folklore took place is “very natural wilderness, beautiful, forests that have been there since the beginning of time.”
“It feels like we’re returning the ‘Folklore’ era to where it belongs,” she added.
