Taylor Swift announced her Eras Tour in November 2022, scheduled to begin in March 2023 in stadiums across the United States. With her immense popularity worldwide, many fans outside the US are wondering if Swift plans to take the tour global. While an international leg hasn’t been confirmed yet, there are good reasons to believe The Eras Tour will eventually expand beyond the US.
Swift’s History of International Tours
Looking back at Swift’s previous tours, she has consistently brought her shows to international audiences. Her debut Fearless Tour in 2009-2010 included dates in the UK, Canada, Australia, and Asia. Her massive 1989 World Tour in 2015 played shows on every continent except Antarctica, cementing Swift’s status as a global superstar. Most recently, her Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018 played the US and Canada before heading to Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
So Swift has clearly established a pattern of taking her tours worldwide following the initial US run. Given her fame and the excitement generated by The Eras Tour announcement, it’s likely she’ll stick to what has worked and bring the show to international Swifties in 2023 or 2024.
Huge Overseas Fanbase
Swift has amassed one of the biggest worldwide fanbases in pop music, known as “Swifties.” Her albums consistently top charts across the globe, from the UK to China. According to Spotify, she was the second most-streamed female artist in the world in 2021. With such a massive following across continents, there is huge demand internationally to see Swift’s live shows.
Bringing The Eras Tour to cities outside the US makes good business sense, allowing Swift to tap into her diverse overseas fandom. Stadiums across Europe and the Asia Pacific region would likely sell out quickly given her popularity there. The enormous potential revenue from taking the tour global is hard to ignore.
Promoting New Music
When Swift announces an album and tour, it’s safe to assume she’ll release new music in support. Her upcoming 10th studio album Midnights drops in October 2022. While she’ll presumably focus the US Eras Tour dates on Midnights, by late 2023 Swift may be ready to release her next album.
Just as she promoted Reputation across the 1989 World Tour, Swift could utilize an international Eras Tour leg to debut material from her upcoming 11th record. Fans overseas would be thrilled to hear new songs live alongside her many hits. Promoting a forthcoming album provides extra incentive for Swift to expand the Eras Tour.
Where Could The Eras Tour Visit?
Based on Swift’s previous tours and strong overseas fanbases, we can identify places around the world likely to host the international Eras Tour.
Europe
Europe makes sense as the first international destination. Swift could route through major stadiums in the UK and Ireland before heading to other European countries like Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden where she has cultivated large fanbases. She might return to sites she hit on the Reputation Tour or explore new cities.
Asia Pacific
The Asia Pacific region has been a booming market for Swift with multiple visits on recent tours. Australia, in particular, consistently draws huge crowds – she could play 5+ shows just there. Other potential stops include Japan, Singapore, China, Philippines, and New Zealand. She might even visit India or South Korea for the first time.
North America
A handful of Canadian dates are likely, along with possibly her first concerts in Mexico. Swift has a lot of fans to cover in North America outside the US.
South America
Swift has said she hopes to visit South America, especially Brazil. The Eras Tour would provide that opportunity, allowing her to hold her first shows in the region since the 1989 World Tour.
Middle East
The Middle East represents one part of the world Swift has yet to perform in. The Eras Tour could make that breakthrough, playing massive stadiums in places like Abu Dhabi.
Continent | Potential Tour Locations |
---|---|
Europe | UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Netherlands |
Asia Pacific | Australia, Japan, China, Singapore, Philippines, New Zealand |
North America | Canada, Mexico |
South America | Brazil, Argentina |
Middle East | UAE |
When Will The International Dates Happen?
Predicting when exactly The Eras Tour might go global is tricky without confirmed details. However, looking at Swift’s past touring schedules provides clues.
US First, Then Overseas
For her last three global tours, Swift played the US shows first before heading overseas. She seems to prefer developing the new production and setlist domestically, then translating it for international audiences. Expect something similar for The Eras Tour, with European and/or Asia Pacific legs following in 2023 or 2024 after the US.
Touring in Blocks
On the 1989 World Tour, Swift toured the US and Canada, took a two month break, then resumed in Japan and Asia, took another break, and finished in Australia and Europe. Breaking up the tour into logical geographic blocks with rest periods in between could enable a lengthy 2+ year global run.
Festival Appearances?
Summer music festivals often happen before and after Swift’s touring seasons. She enjoys playing festivals, so potential one-off concerts between Eras Tour legs at events like Glastonbury, Roskilde, Fuji Rock or Lollapalooza could happen.
How Long Will It Last?
Given the name Eras, Swift may intend for this tour to essentially cover her whole career. If so, she could concertize over a 3 year period like Bon Jovi’s This House Is Not For Sale Tour. For global reach, her longest tour ever, outlasting even the 1989 run, seems plausible.
Setlist Expectations
The Eras Tour encompasses Swift’s entire career, so what songs might she perform?
New Music First
Swift will likely heavily feature new songs off Midnights and any album she releases in 2023/2024. For previous tours, she frontloaded the setlist with fresh material from the current album cycle. She had up to 9 Reputation tracks per night, so expect at least 6-8 Midnights songs. Any forthcoming album could get the same treatment.
Career-Spanning
Beyond new music, Swift will pull from her expansive back catalog, especially fan favorites she’s skipped recent tours. One could expect surprise inclusions like “All Too Well,” “Blank Space,” “You Belong With Me,” “Love Story,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “Shake It Off,” “22,” “Bad Blood,” “Mean,” “The Story of Us,” “Enchanted,” “Sparks Fly,” “Fifteen,” “Teardrops On My Guitar,” “Mine,” and “Picture To Burn” among others.
Varying By Night
Swift has varied her setlists on past tours to keep things fresh. She’ll likely do the same on The Eras Tour, rotating different hits on different show nights with some rare surprises. Hardcore fans who attend multiple concerts might get to hear over 100 unique songs across the tour’s run.
Covers & Guests
Covers have been a staple of Swift’s tours, so she may bring back popular ones like “Love Story” by Ryan Adams or “September” by Earth Wind & Fire. There’s always potential for special guest appearances as well – could she duet with Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber or Selena Gomez for instance? The setlist options are endless.
Production Speculation
What might The Eras Tour look like from a staging and production standpoint?
Bigger Than Reputation Stadium Tour
Reputation Stadium Tour featured expansive sets, pyrotechnics, floating stages, and motorized contraptions for Swift to ride over the crowd. However, it was designed for stadium seating capacities of 50,000-60,000 fans. The Eras Tour will play significantly larger stadiums, with some seats over 100,000. A production value upgrade is expected to fill those giant spaces.
Multi-Stage Setup
Having stages at both ends or along the full perimeter of the stadium floor would allow Swift to get closer to all fans. She could move between them via conveyor belts, moving sidewalks or other transport rigs. Similar multi-stage concepts have been used recently by mega-tours like The Rolling Stones, U2 and Ed Sheeran.
AR & VR Elements
21st century technology like augmented reality, virtual reality and hologram effects could feature. Imagine AR references to classic Taylor Swift song themes and videos appearing around the stadium. She might virtual duet with her past selves or original collaborators. Endless creative visuals are possible.
Sustainability
Swift will likely consider the tour’s environmental impact by using sustainable staging materials, reducing waste, and promoting recycling and public transit among fans. Solar panels and kinetic floors that harness footsteps energy could power the show. Sustainability initiatives are important to Swift and her team.
Budget
The Reputation Tour required an estimated $400 million budget. Given its larger scale, the budget for The Eras Tour might land between $500-600 million. With multiple legs spanning several years, it could end up being the most expensive tour in music history. But Swift will earn many times more, likely over $1 billion based on similar length/scale tours.
Impact
Let’s now consider The Eras Tour’s potential legacy.
Cementing Her Status
This tour commemorates Swift’s unprecedented multi-genre, multi-decade career at a relatively young age. Not many global superstars could sustain such an endeavor. Pulling it off successfully will only reinforce Swift as this generation’s primary pop idol and an all-time great performer.
The Eras Tour seems primed to shatter records, including:
- Highest grossing tour of all time
- Most tickets sold for a single tour
- Most stadium dates on a single tour
- Most countries visited on a single tour
It could be Swift’s magnum opus tour achievement.
Inspiring Younger Artists
Swift’s ability to conceptualize and manifest such an ambitious large-scale global tour will undoubtedly inspire younger artists. They’ll aspire to emulate her hands-on role in developing every aspect of the live performance. It raises the bar for pop music tours.
Raising Fan Experience Expectations
Swift has long pioneered new ways to enhance the fan concert experience, like printing lyrics in the show program, using intricate bracelet lighting, offering VIP packages and having surprise guests. The Eras Tour will bring fan engagement to new heights, whether via high-tech visuals, multi-stage viewing access or exclusive content. Fans will expect similar immersive experiences from other top touring artists.
Promoting Inclusivity & Social Causes
From highlighting LGBTQ dancers to advocating voter registration, Swift strives for diversity and uses her platform to promote social causes on tour. The Eras Tour will push those efforts further globally. Her embrace of fandom diversity could influence attitudes in more socially conservative countries unfamiliar with such inclusion. Outreach volunteering and donations to worthwhile local charities are also likely.
Conclusion
Given Swift’s career trajectory, enormous fanbase, and penchant for ambitious tours, The Eras Tour expanding internationally in 2023/2024 seems probable. Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas all have stadiums eager to host it. This could become Swift’s longest and most elaborate tour yet, employing new production elements to create an immersive global experience. If executed thoroughly, The Eras Tour has the potential to smash records and establish new benchmarks for live music tours. It will cap off the first decade of Swift’s storied career in spectacular fashion while previewing even bigger things ahead. Tickets will predictably sell out instantly when international dates get announced. Swifties worldwide are hungry to celebrate their idol’s musical journey so far.