“Long live all the magic we made.”
This line, from Taylor Swift’s fan-favorite Speak Now track “Long Live,” is plastered on a giant mural outside of Vancouver’s BC Place this weekend (Dec. 6-8). It’s one of the first things fans see before scanning their tickets and stepping foot inside the stadium, and there is no better lyric to describe the legacy of The Eras tour.
What Swift conjures up as the head sorceress of a three-hour and 15-minute set, does feel like “magic” — and it certainly will be remembered. For a year and eight months since the record-smashing tour kicked off in Glendale, Ariz., the global pop superstar has graciously guided us through her discography, era by era, singing a combination of her biggest hits, fan favorites and even some deep cuts (usually making their appearance during the acoustic surprise song portion of her show).
on Saturday (Dec. 7), from the moment the countdown clock struck zero, all 60,000 bodies inside the bustling downtown Vancouver venue were locked in, including the hundreds of fans in the no-view seats behind the stage, which were originally listed on Ticketmaster for $16CAD each.
Being that it is Swift’s 151st show of this tour, she hits her marks with ease — it’s second nature, but she never looks bored, and her gratitude never gets lost on her.
“You have made our last Saturday the best Saturday night,” Swift said right before exiting the stage. And odds are, all 60,000 Swifties in the room thought the exact same thing.
Billboard rounds up the best moments, in no particular order, from the second to last Eras tour ever below.
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Gracie Abrams’ Fourth Acoustic Set Appearance
Gracie Abrams, Swift’s opener, is no stranger to the acoustic section of The Eras tour, but that didn’t make her surprise appearance on Dec. 7 any less exciting.
“Tonight is the last opportunity that Gracie and I have to perform together,” Swift teased with her acoustic guitar in tow at the end of her catwalk before Abrams emerged in a burgundy sequin dress (perhaps an Easter egg for something that happened shortly after… We’ll get to that next).
The duo then delivered their lush harmonies on a duet rendition of Abrams’ “I Love You, I’m Sorry” mashed up with Swift’s Speak Now ballad, “Last Kiss.” The former was especially poignant — the first song they ever sang live together was “I Miss You, I’m Sorry.”
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“The Tortured Poets Department” x “Maroon”
After wrapping up the acoustic guitar song and thanking Abrams for her time, Swift immediately went into performing the title The Tortured Poets Department track, which soon got mashed up with “Maroon” (which made Abrams’ aforementioned outfit choice feel quite on brand).
The latter in the mash-up has been a fan-favorite since Midnights’ release in 2022 — and has already been performed a handful of times during this very section of the show. But on Saturday, Swift gave it a proper goodbye: “I’m gonna do this one more time on the tour,” she said right before concluding the song — singing the tongue-twisting outro, alongside the monstrous crowd, for a second time. What a real f—ing legacy to leave, indeed.
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Living for the Applause
Lady Gaga’s “Applause” has been the final song the pre-show playlist since the beginning of the tour, right before the countdown clock emerges on the big screen. Saturday night at BC Place, fans clearly took that as a message and made it their mission to give Swift the applause she lives for.
Just two songs into the show, after performing “Cruel Summer,” swift was already awestruck by the crowd noise. Her smirk quickly became a toothy smile, only encouraging fans to scream even louder.
“We’ve made the correct decision on making Vancouver the last city of the Eras tour,” she admitted. Later in the show, after her performance of “Champagne Problems,” she once again paused for applause — leading to a standing ovation well over four and a half minutes.
“I just keep thinking looking at this crowd how incredibly happy, grateful and fortunate we are to spend our last weekend here,” Swift said with twinkling eyes and a dopey smile.
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Witchy Vibes for “Willow”
Even though Saturday night was only the penultimate show, fans did everything they could to make Swift feel all the love for her final weekend. The most evident example of this was during her performance of “Willow” — which sees Swift and her dancers wearing capes and performing hexes with orange glowing orbs on stage. Tonight, pockets of fans all over the stadium somehow blew up orange balloons and illuminated them with their phone flashlights, as if they were right in the action.
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Swifties Make the Whole Place Shimmer
Saturday marked the fifth city I’ve traveled to for The Eras tour, and I can say that Vancouver’s outfits have been next level. The creativity and thoughtfulness now go beyond recreations of tour looks, digging deeper into her catalogue and lore.
At least two fans on the floor walked around in all black with stuffed cats on their shoulders — an homage to Swift’s TIME Person of the Year cover last year.
Being that Christmas is also right around the corner, a few fans were dressed in their holiday best. One fan wore a full Christmas tree getup, which featured all 11 of Swift’s albums pinned as ornaments. Another fan also walked around with a full red and white suit and hat featuring with the words “Swift Claus” in red glitter.
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This Scene Feels Like What We Once Saw on a Screen
The age old question as The Eras tour comes to an end: what will Taylor do? While there were no major announcements at the Saturday night show, fans are theorizing Swift has more to come up her sleeve with more film equipment than usual seen throughout the stadium. On the floor alone, there were multiple roaming crews capturing fan reactions during Swift’s set, as well as a dolly system, aerial camera and crane. Only time will tell what it’s for — and fingers crossed fans will learn sooner than later.
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Honorable Mention: Abrams Fills the Stadium
After first opening for Swift well over a year ago, it’s clear Abrams has come a long way. Donning a gorgeous light blue dress, Abrams is more confident on the stadium stage than ever before, commanding the attention of the majority of the room — a feat not many stadium openers can say they’ve achieved. Under Swift’s guidance, while simultaneously carving her own lane, it seems Abrams is only going up from here.
Gracie Abrams set list:
“Risk”
“21”
“I Told You Things”
“I Miss You, I’m Sorry”
“Let It Happen”
“Free Now”
“us.”
“Close to You”
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Eras Tour Vancouver Night 2 Setlist
“Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince”
“Cruel Summer”
“The Man”
“You Need to Calm Down”
“Lover”
“Fearless”
“You Belong With Me”
“Love Story”
“22”
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
“I Knew You Were Trouble”
“All Too Well” (10-minute version)
“Enchanted”
“…Ready for It?”
“Delicate”
“Don’t Blame Me”
“Look What You Made Me Do”
“Cardigan”
“Betty”
“Champagne Problems”
“August”
“Illicit Affairs”
“My Tears Ricochet”
“Marjorie”
“Willow”
“Style”
“Blank Space”
“Shake It Off”
“Wildest Dreams”
“Bad Blood”
“But Daddy I Love Him / So High School”
“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”
“Down Bad”
“Fortnight”
“The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”
“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”
“I Love You, I’m Sorry” x “Last Kiss”
“The Tortured Poets Department” x “Maroon”
“Lavender Haze”
“Anti-Hero”
“Vigilante S—“
“Bejeweled”
“Mastermind”
“Karma”
