When Toronto-based entertainment and hospitality magnate Charles Khabouth heard about it Taylor Swift will break the record Eras Tour When he arrived in the city he had called home for over 50 years, he immediately knew what he had to do.

“To celebrate, I opened a bottle of Dom Perignon,” says Khabouth, founder/CEO of INK Entertainment, which operates a number of hotels, bars and restaurants in the city and organizes live events, with a laugh. “I have been in this business for about 43 years; I have never seen so much exaggeration in my life. We do, I don’t know, 200, 300 live shows every year. We hosted everyone in the city stones with madonna with Prince. “This got more support from everyone than was possible.”

The city of Toronto is about to host one of the most culturally and economically significant events of the past two years as Swift and an army of her fans descend on the city for six nights over two weekends (November 14-16). , 21-23), the penultimate stop on a tour that spanned two years and five continents and changed the fate of many cities along the way. And Toronto – a city known as a savvy, cosmopolitan city in its own right, but one that has at times had to struggle to be considered in the same category as cultural capitals like New York, Los Angeles or Chicago – has seized the opportunity.

On Nov. 4, the city of Toronto and Rogers Communications renamed Blue Jay Way, the street in front of Rogers Centre, usually home to the hometown Major League Baseball team, that runs from Nathan Phillips Square to the field, as Taylor Swift Way. It’s complete with 22 ceremonial street signs that will be auctioned after the run is over to support the Daily Bread Food Bank. (Rogers is also matching donations up to $113,000 to the Daily Bread Food Bank, a nod to Swift’s favorite number, 13.)

And that’s just the opening magic the city will eventually unleash. The municipality has since made a statement. poetry-inspired pre-concert initiative Overseen by Toronto Poet Lillian Allen, other announcements include the Toronto Edition: Taylgate ’24 event. is expected to attract approximately 60,000 people; an Age! Ages! Ages! Performance of the singing group Choir! Choir! Choir!; and 13 regions scavenger hunt It’s tied to different songs from Swift’s catalog spread across the city, among many other things. Eras-themed city tours, dance parties, drag and trivia nights and pop– gifts from shops and numerous businesses in the city. Destination Toronto, the tourism office of Canada’s largest city, has some expectations Economic impact of $282 million Swift’s two-week mini-residency included $152 million in direct spending; 93% of this spending is expected to come from tourists flocking to Toronto; This is an astronomical rise for the city’s local businesses.

“We saw the entire city get caught up in the action, from the Taylgate party at the Metro Toronto Convention Center to Taylor-themed hotel rooms and special menus at restaurants around the city,” says Destination Toronto Senior Manager Kathy Motton. communication. “Major events like Taylor Swift bring visitor spending to Toronto, and that spending circulates and impacts a broad set of businesses long after visitors return home. The obvious positive benefit applies to hotels, restaurants and other tourism-related businesses, but this benefit “It also includes businesses indirectly affected by visitor spending.”

And many of these establishments have met the moment by overhauling their own properties to meet the needs of the estimated 500,000 tourists flocking to the area.

“There’s so much going on on the property,” says Liza McWilliams, marketing manager at 1 Hotel Toronto, which is transforming the Flora lobby lounge into the Folklore Lounge, complete with a moss-covered piano and tapestries, for the next two weeks. Hanging on the wall with Swift’s words Folklore The album and daily acoustic performances are open to guests and the public. They’ve also partnered with Little Words Project, the original word-based friendship bracelet company, which opened a pop-up shop in the lobby of 1 Hotel for the first time in Canada. “I think it’s a lot of fun to be this creative and dream up really cool things that will stay with guests longer,” McWilliams says. “With the exception of the (Toronto International) Film Festival, I would say we have never been this specific when it comes to a real city event.”

“It’s like getting ready for the Super Bowl in Toronto,” says Aaron Harrison, general manager of the Bisha Hotel, a short walk from Rogers Centre. Bisha also redesigned the entire lobby area ( Reputation era), public areas on each of the seven hotel floors have also undergone an era-themed makeover, while one suite has been entirely rebranded as The Taylor (previously I spend about $4,000 per night If you can catch it), and the hotel will offer guests friendship bracelets, a glitter station, and themed food and drinks, among other things, in the Lover Lounge. “We wanted Bisha Hotel to feel like the ultimate fan hub,” adds Harrison.