Taylor Swift and the end of the Eras tour: inside her final Vancouver shows

It's the actual end of an era: Taylor Swift's two-year world tour, the Eras tour, comes to a close in Vancouver. 

CBC Music was in the middle of the floor at BC Place — awash in a glittering sea of sequins, sparkles and rhinestone bodysuits — to witness the first evening of Swift's three-night, sold-out, 3.5-hour long musical extravaganza.

Have you ever seen 60,000 people trade friendship bracelets while also trying to use both hands to make hearts over their heads? The Eras tour vibes — kindness, camaraderie, creativity, catharsis — have been a vital part of its success, and Swift-couver showed up to carry that spirit through its final weekend. 

From the opening bars of Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" counting down to the show's beginning to the fireworks finale, this was more than a masterclass in showmanship. Swift kicked off the final Friday night of the Eras tour fully owning her place in the culture as a pop icon. She even saved some of her best surprises for last. Here are five moments that we can't stop thinking about. 

1. Swift introduced her beloved epic "All Too Well" to the audience with a little joke: "There's actually one more song from Red that I'd like to play if you happen to have 10 minutes?"

2. Following a three-minute-long standing ovation for "Champagne Problems," Swift thanked the audience in a heartfelt moment: "For me, for my band, my crew, and my fellow performers onstage, the dancers, and for anyone who has been with us and cared about this tour, right now, honestly, I'm just feeling so overjoyed that we decided to spend our last couple of shows in Vancouver."

3. It was literal fire during "Bad Blood" — the giant flames that shot out from the sides of the stage were so hot it felt like being next to an open kiln. 

4. Swift began the acoustic portion of the night by explaining that it's the one section that's different every show, so she tries to choose her songs with intention. She began on the guitar with "Haunted" before stating, "I have to play this at some point in Canada, eh?" and then launched into "Wonderland," seemingly making a reference to Canada's Wonderland (in addition to the references to Alice in Wonderland in the lyrics). Swift then moved over to the upright piano, adorned with flowers, for an emotional mashup of "Never Grow Up" and "The Best Day." 

5. The indoor fireworks to end the show was just one of the brilliant lighting features throughout the night, designed by Swift and her team, but also further augmented by the Swifties in the audience. Every fan received a wristband with a compact little light fixture as they entered BC Place. These bands seemed like they were on a timer to flash different coloured lights throughout Swift's performance so that everything twinkled beautifully in the massive stadium, but also stayed true to her Eras tour colour palette. Glowing orbs suddenly appeared during the enchanting song "Willow," as fans inflated and illuminated orange balloons they brought in themselves (and everyone dressed in long green cloaks for the Folklore era put their hoods up almost en masse).