Taylor Swift Eras tour set to break records as tickets go on pre-sale
TICKETS for Taylor Swift’s European tour are set to go on sale this week, with predictions of sky-high prices on the secondary market.
The star’s highly anticipated “Eras Tour” is expected to make a significant impact as it heads to Europe, with projections it will become the highest-grossing tour of all time, surpassing $1.5bn (£1.17bn) in box office takings.
As tickets go on pre-sale for European dates this week, demand is expected to far exceed supply, leading to long virtual queues and, later on, a subsequent surge in resale prices on platforms like Viagogo.
Viagogo global managing director Cris Miller has said it is “unlike anything” he has ever seen and has called for greater transparency in the industry and for fans to have safe and flexible ticket purchasing and exchange options.
He believes lessons must be learned from the US leg of the tour, after primary sellers Ticketmaster and ATX experienced overwhelming demand, resulting in website crashes, long wait times, and the cancellation of the public sale.
“We believe the industry must do more to put fans first”, Millar said.
Fans and lawmakers expressed outrage, calling for increased competition in the ticketing industry and a reevaluation of the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is already on track to earn a cool $1bn (£779m) in sales, potentially making it the highest-grossing tour in history, overtaking Elton John’s farewell tour.
However, with additional concerts and global dates, industry experts at concert data tracker Pollstar suggest that the total gross revenue could reach $1.4b (£1.1b).
The ‘Love story’ and ‘Shake it off’ singer’s next live show has become one of the most coveted tickets of the year as devoted fans, known as ‘Swifties’, have already endured hours-long virtual queues just for a chance to secure tickets to her shows.
The stakes are high for the 33-year-old’s return to European stages, as this marks her first tour in the region since 2018 before the pandemic disrupted live events.
Last year, Swift’s ‘Midnights’ album propelled her to the top of Forbes’ list as the highest-paid female entertainer globally, as she pocketed a jammy $92m (£72m).
With the Eras tour underway, she is predicted to amass millions of dollars in additional earnings.