VANCOUVER — Taylor Swift's three-night run at BC Place, closing out the pop star's global Eras Tour, generated daily economic impact for Vancouver that could rival the 2010 Olympics and smashed data streaming records, industry figures say.
“In the context of comparing to anything else, it’s not even believable almost — it’s such a huge impact,” Tostenson said. “I was out a little bit on Friday and Saturday, and every place I went to was absolutely lined up and packed.” He credits the festive mood brought by fans that had an emotional effect on people in general, which in turn has a major impact on restaurants, an industry built largely on discretionary spending.“From a financial point of view, the Olympics probably had a bigger impact,” Tostenson said. “But … I'm going to venture to estimate that this, on a daily basis compared to the Olympics, was stronger.
The previous record was set Nov. 21, when fans at Swift's concert in Toronto used 7.4 terabytes of data on the Rogers network. Suzanne Walters, a spokeswoman for Destination Vancouver, said most of the lit-up letters will be coming down over the next few days, but the “Swiftcouver” display downtown will stay until Dec. 13 — Swift’s birthday.