Taylor Swift fever hits Paris
It is now April in Paris. It is the time when the fabled City of Lights is said to be at its most beautiful. This is the time that composers and singers immortalize in songs with so much feeling.
“April in Paris, chestnuts in bIossom/ holiday tables under the trees/ April in Paris, this is a feeling no one can ever resist…” or “…I love Paris every moment/ every moment of the year/ I love Paris, why oh why do I love Paris…”
Visitors to Paris on the weekend of May 9 to 12 will find all that those songs said to be true. Paris is truly beautiful. Well, the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris is still under repair from the fire that gutted it a few years ago. So, save that for next time. The lower part of the Eiffel Tower is now enclosed in transparent plastic. Maybe to protect the structure from souvenir hunters. You can’t get close anymore. Then everywhere you look, there is something that says Paris Olympics.
But there is still the Louvre with the lovely Tuilleries Gardens close by and L’Arc de Triomphe where they have a light show on most evenings. If they are willing to stand in a long line just to be able to spend money, there are the Louis Vuitton or Longchamp stores. Then not to forget, Laduree’s, with those macarons straight out of Marie Antoinette’s era. And then, there is Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift in Paris! Yes, “The ERAS” tour opened its European leg with four nights at the huge La Defense Arena at Les Jardin de L’Arche on Nanterre last May 9 to 12. Visitors to the City, mostly Americans and many repeat viewers, are said to have doubled because of “ERAS” as many found the Paris ticket prices cheaper than in the U.S. of A.
Besides fans are also curious to find out if Swift will add songs from her new album The Tortured Poets Department. That title, I have to admit sounds like something very, very French. Maybe she will also sing Paris, a cut from the 3:AM edition of her Midnights album about being in Paris is being somewhere else.
Diehard Swifties with SRO tickets have already set up camp outside La Defense days before to be the first inside and to get the best spots. Lines have also formed in front of the merchandise stores.
Take note, only OFFICIAL TAYLOR SWIFT MERCHANDISE are allowed to be sold. Unlike the Olympic items which are everywhere in Paris, “ERAS” souvenirs are available only in authorized areas. Tight controls protect Swift.
She is entitled to several euros for every T-shirt, mug, and other items sold. Her earnings from those, plus from the threenight-concert series before an audience of over 40,000 people per show, can add up to quite a sum added to her already bulging coffers.
Remember Swift was declared a billionaire in 2023, thanks to the “ERAS” shows in the US, Latin America, Japan and with much controversy in Singapore. She is set to follow Paris with performances in Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Great Britain, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Poland, and Austria.
It is estimated that by the time she finishes the “ERAS” tour late this year in Vancouver, British Columbia, Swift will have once more earned another cool billion dollars. And I must add, caused a massive impact in the economies of the world.
And so Paris is Taylor Swift country for three days in the spring of 2024. It is busy, it is big business, but hopefully remains as enchanting as always. Forgive the swarm of Swifties around La Defense. There are many other places to see and feel the soft warmth of a Paris spring.
“I love Paris in the springtime…”