Toronto City Council voted 21 to 1 in favour of Councillor Jennifer McKelvie’s motion to temporarily rename a route of streets (from Nathan Phillips Square to the Rogers Centre) as ‘Taylor Swift Way’ during the artist’s Eras Tour in November. The street signs will also be lit up red on certain dates of Swift’s concerts.
The motion was carried late last month, with only Councillor Josh Matlow opposing the idea — perhaps because he “does not like her songs,” Councillor Frances Nunziata joked in chambers.
Motion to temporarily designate Taylor Swift Way CARRIES 21-1. (“Councillor Matlow does not like her songs,” Nunziata notes.) pic.twitter.com/ObY9ZbeSrW
— Matt Elliott (@GraphicMatt) July 25, 2024
When presenting her motion to council, McKelvie held up a “Welcome to Tayloronto” t-shirt and gave a speech with “approximately ten million Swift song title references”, according to Toronto Star columnist Matt Elliott, who provided a play-by-play account of the motion on X.
“Will you be inviting her to one of our council meetings?” Nunziata asked McKelvie .
“Taylor is welcome anytime,” McKelvie responded, holding up a ‘Tayloronto’ shirt that she hopes Swift will wear while singing “22”.
According to McKelvie, Rogers Communications (a sponsor of The Eras Tour) will cover the costs of the “Taylor Swift Way” signs. After the performances, the signs will be donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank for auction, with proceeds going to the charity.
Still, not everyone is happy about the news, with many calling it “cringe” and noting how there are more important things to worry about in Toronto.
Coun. Jennifer McKelvie says she plans to give Taylor Swift this T-shirt when she visits in November. (Also, Rogers has apparently agreed to cover the costs in temporarily renaming the route from Rogers Centre to Nathan Phillips Square as “Taylor Swift Way”.) pic.twitter.com/zEMJsPM6Ou
— Mahdis Habibinia (@mahdishabibinia) July 25, 2024
The city is facing very real problems, from an affordability crisis, crumbling infrastructure, traffic gridlock, and unreliable public transportation.
This is how @JohnTory sycophant, and former Deputy Mayor, @McKelvieTO is spending her time and taxpayer’s money.
— Adam ⚾️ (@GradyTripp00) July 25, 2024
Swift will perform in Toronto for six nights, from Nov. 14 to 16 and 21 to 23 at the Rogers Centre. But as we previously reported, last Friday afternoon, one excited Swifty took to X to point out that an additional date popped up on the Ticketmaster Canada website for a show on Nov. 24, at 7 p.m.
When choosing a seat option for that date, a note on the site stated, “On sale date and time are in the works – please check back!”
Fans were in a frenzy across social media until they realized that the extra concert date had been removed. Now, when you visit Ticketmaster’s The Eras Tour page, it simply states “Sorry, tickets are not currently available online.”
Whether or not you have tickets to see Swift, prior to her performances, the North Building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre will be transformed into the ultimate Taylor Swift fan experience, Toronto’s Version: Taylgate ’24, which will run daily on Swift’s concert dates from 1 p.m. until 11 p.m.
