Vancouver entering its holiday Era with repurposed Taylor Swift signs
Illuminated block letters will be rearranged to spell out words like 'Elf' and 'Noel,' marketing firm says
Call it Vancouver's Christmas era.
Over the past several weeks, the city has been decked out with sights and signs celebrating the three-day finale of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, held at B.C. Place on Dec. 6, 7 and 8.
With thousands of visitors pouring into the city, many businesses and organizations sought to capitalize on the opportunity, including the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, which partnered with the marketing firm Inventa to set up large, lit-up block letters spelling out words and phrases related to Swift such as the song title Shake It Off and the album name Red.
Now, with the concert over, the letters will remain but with new, holiday-related messages.
"Things like 'Noel,' things like 'Elf,' things like 'Believe,'" said Inventa president Alexa Freudigmann. "Just sort of heart-warming messages that people can go around town and explore and take pictures with all over again."
The goal, she said, is to "increase the vibrancy around downtown" and help shake off Vancouver's reputation as a "no-fun city."
She said between the Swift concerts, the Grey Cup and the upcoming Invictus Games there's a renewed sense of optimism around people's interest in exploring Vancouver, whether they are locals or visitors.
"It's been overwhelmingly positive," she said of the reaction to the signs which are at various locations around the city.
According to Ian Tostenson, the CEO of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association, there was an estimated $25 million boost for Metro Vancouver's establishments for each of the three days that Swift's concerts took place.
Combined with a pair of Canucks games, more than 300,000 came downtown from Friday to Sunday, the city said.
"We saw glitter and Canucks jerseys all over," said Lisa Parker, the city's director of public space.
It wasn't all good news, however. Gennaro Iorio, who owns the restaurant La Terrazza, told CBC News that his reservations "plummeted" after people were warned to stay away from downtown on the night of the Swift concert unless they had a ticket to the show.
"We had a great vibe of Swifties walking by. It looked amazing," he said. "It would have been really cool if all the local people got to see that and enjoy that."
Freudigmann said there are still lots of events and entertainment options in Vancouver that locals should check out, including one more Taylor Swift-related attraction: the giant "Swiftcouver" sign in Coal Harbour, which will remain until the singer's birthday on Dec. 13.
With files from On the Coast, the Canadian Press and Pinki Wong