Long time coming: Taylor Swift's Eras Tour arrives at final stop in Vancouver

Pop superstar Taylor Swift greeted some 55,000 eager fans in downtown Vancouver Friday with what’s become a familiar opening line.

“Welcome to the Eras Tour!” she belted out to the crowd, for one of the final times.

Swift chose Vancouver for the last three performances of her massively popular tour, which has taken her across five continents for nearly 150 shows.

For local fans, anticipation has been building for a full year, and continued mounting in the hours leading up to the concert as thousands of excited Swifties lined up outside the gates of BC Place.

Sparkles, rhinestones and cowboy boots filled the stadium as people of all ages exchanged friendship bracelets, a Swift concert tradition.

The energy inside was palpable as the singer took the stage at 8 pm., telling fans their ecstatic cheers were “an excellent way to welcome a girl to Vancouver.”

During her song "I'm Feeling 22,” Swift handed off her hat to one lucky girl who was standing front row, another staple of the tour. She also hugged the young fan, who sang along to the popular song from Swift’s 2012 album Red.

“It’s a chance to relive past memories and make so many new ones,” Swift said, explaining the concept behind her three-hour, album-spanning show.

For songs from her 2020 album Folklore, the stage was decked out with a wooden cabin.

“It kind of feels not that out-of-place in Vancouver,” Swift said. “You guys have your share of beautiful, natural forests – and mystical forests – and that’s all part of the imagery world of Folklore.”

During “Champagne Problems,” off the album Evermore, also released in 2020, the singer took out her ear piece to better hear the intensely loud cheering, screaming, jumping and applauding of her fans – whose dancing has famously caused seismic activity during previous stops.

“I’m just feeling so overjoyed that we decided to spend our last couple of shows in Vancouver,” Swift said.

For each concert, the singer has picked acoustic songs to perform as a surprise for fans. For her first night in Vancouver, Swift played a guitar mashup of “Haunted,” from the 2010 album Speak Now, and “Wonderland” from 1989, released in 2014.

Swift joked that she had to play the latter at “one point” in Canada, referencing the “eh” in the lyrics.

On the piano, she combined “Never Grow Up,” also from Speak Now, with “The Best Day,” from 2008’s Fearless.

The night finished with the same amount of energy as it began, showing just how much passion Swifties have for the award-winning artist

Just two more shows remain for the Eras Tour, with fans from around the world expected to fly in for the final nights.

For Swifties who didn’t manage to snag tickets already, some are available for resale – but at massively inflated prices, including up to $2,300 on StubHub as of Friday night.