Vancouver could be seeing lots of friendship bracelets soon, with Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour arriving in town for its final concerts on Dec. 6, 7, and 8.
But there's one huge, inflatable travelling friendship bracelet that has caught the attention of Swifties everywhere since it appeared in October, and now the question is if it, too, will be in Vancouver and displayed outside BC Place.
What's the deal with friendship bracelets and Taylor Swift?
Ever wonder why friendship bracelets and Swift have become synonymous? The colourful beaded bands, often made to spell out sayings or acronyms, adorn the arms of the thousands upon thousands of fans at any of her Eras Tour concerts and are traded between friends and strangers.
It started with a song lyric from "You're On Your Own, Kid," an iconic "Track 5" (the track on each album with significant personal meaning to Swift) from her 2022 release Midnights.
"So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, you've got no reason to be afraid," sings Swift.
Though the song isn't on the Eras Tour setlist it has been a favourite "surprise song" choice for the global superstar.
And Swifties of all ages have delighted in making and trading friendship bracelets with other fans at the shows. Even Swift's now-boyfriend, Travis Kelce, joked before they were together that he wanted to give her a friendship bracelet after her Kansas City show with his phone number on it.
Massive Eras Tour stadium friendship bracelet began in New Orleans
Given the lore of friendship bracelets, when Swift's Eras Tour was bound for New Orleans, host venue the Caesars Superdome adorned the outside of the stadium with a massive friendship bracelet.
Swift played three sold-out shows at the Caesars Superdome in late October as part of the second of just five stops on the final leg of her Eras Tour, which began in Glendale, Arizona in March 2023.
To the delight of fans, when the tour moved onto its next - and final - U.S. tour stop in Indianapolis, the Superdome was so moved by the spirit of friendship that they passed the bracelet to the folks at Lucas Oil stadium there.
"NOLA 💘 INDY! We traded our friendship bracelets with @LucasOilStadium today & hope Indianapolis loves them as much as we did in New Orleans!" the venue posted on X/Twitter.
Sure enough, as the Eras Tour crossed the border into Canada for its penultimate stop, the giant inflatable friendship bracelet was gifted to Toronto by Indianapolis, where it was on display at the Rogers Centre for Swift's six-show run.
The bracelet made the perfect backdrop for many a photo and video shared to social media while Swift was in "Tay-ronto."
On Saturday (Nov. 23), before the stadium was even empty, a crew got to work removing the giant bracelet from the exterior of the Rogers Centre and deflating it.
Social media users commented on videos showing the bracelet's removal remarking that the special giant travelling accessory was on its way west to Vancouver for the final Eras Tour shows. Many noted how much they were looking forward to seeing the inflatable "traded" friendship bracelet hung on the Vancouver stadium to greet Swift and her tens of thousands of fans here to see the star's three last Eras Tour shows.
Will the massive Taylor Swift Eras Tour friendship bracelet soon be hanging on the outside of BC Place?
All signs point to yes, but no one will go on record confirming as much.
It's fair to guess that BC Place would love to surprise the city with the bracelet appearing on the outside of the venue.
V.I.A. reached out to the Rogers Centre and BC Place about the giant travelling friendship bracelet but neither stadium provided a response.
Keep your eyes on BC Place, though, because the sign could well be bound for Vancouver and the last stop of the Eras Tour.
