What to expect from Taylor Swift weekend
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Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Erika Goldring/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
The waiting is over. The planning is done. Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" extravaganza has arrived in Indianapolis.
Why it matters: The highest-grossing tour of all time is also arguably Indy's biggest event of 2024 — a year that included Olympic swimming trials, the first ever Gen Con sellout, a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event and Tyrese Haliburton dapping it up with Larry Bird at NBA All-Star Weekend.
- Locally, the economic impact is anticipated to be a nine-figure number.
The big picture: More than 200,000 Swifties are expected to party in the Circle City this weekend as the megastar hits the stage with opener Gracie Abrams for back-to-back-to-back sellouts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Yes, but: A show this big can't be contained to the Colts' home turf.
- Countless pop-up performances, dining experiences and family-friendly activities are happening in honor of the final U.S. stop of Swift's massive two-year tour.
The intrigue: This being her last stateside performance before heading north to wrap things up in Canada has fans wondering if Swift will do something to go out with a bang — like welcoming a special guest to join her on stage.
- Some of the celeb cameos at previous Eras stops have included Sabrina Carpenter, Hayley Williams, Ice Spice, Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner and Travis Kelce.
Flashback: When Swift last performed in Indianapolis in 2018 for her "Reputation" tour, she did so in front of a crowd of 55,729 people, a concert record at Lucas Oil at the time.
- Morgan Wallen set a new Lucas Oil concert record earlier this year when he did two sold-out shows in April.
- Swift is expected to reclaim her attendance crown this weekend, something Wallen joked about on stage between songs in Indy.
Zoom in: Tourism officials say hotels are virtually sold out and pulling in three times the average daily rate when compared to this time last year. An estimated 81% of people who purchased tickets live out-of-state.
- Short-term rental bookings are up 207% year-over-year with a 7,000-percent surge in searches for Airbnb rentals.
What they're saying: "From a tourism perspective, we don't think there's been a concert that has driven this much out-of-state tourism-related business," said Visit Indy executive vice president Chris Gahl.
- "It's important to note that all (these) things had to come together. You had to have the Colts traveling. You had to have a convention calendar that is open. You had to have hotel rooms and restaurants in our downtown that are able to host at this level," he said.
- "So everything came together for 2024, which is a record-setting year for Indianapolis tourism."
What's next: Showtime!
- Gates open at 4:30pm each night and the concert starts at 6:45pm.
If you go: Resale tickets start at about $2,000 on StubHub, Vivid Seats and SeatGeek.