End of The Eras - Taylor Swift thanked her fans for making the Eras Tour "the most exciting, powerful, electrifying, intense, most challenging" experience of her life, as she played the closing show in Vancouver on Sunday. The Eras Tour kicked off in Arizona in March 2023 with an epic, 44-song setlist that lasted more than three hours.
The appetite for tickets was so great that Ticketmaster's systems broke down, prompting a hearing into the company in the US Senate. Despite that, more than 10.1m tickets were sold for the tour's 149 shows, spanning five continents, over almost two years.
Last December, it became the first tour in history to surpass $1bn (£786m) in ticket sales. At its conclusion, that figure totalled $2,077,618,725 (£1.63bn), said Taylor Swift Touring, the star’s production company. Merchandise has also proved to be a lucrative source of revenue, with estimates that it has brought in an extra $400m (£314m).
As she cued up the set-closer in Vancouver, Karma, Swift thanked her fans one last time. "I want to thank every single one of you for being a part of the most thrilling chapter of my entire life to date - my beloved Eras Tour."
Golden Oldie - Mary Poppins actor Dick Van Dyke has taken a starring role in Coldplay's latest music video, as he prepares to celebrate his 99th birthday. Filmed in his beachside home in Malibu, external, the moving video sees the star reminisce about his life and reflect on old age. "I'm acutely aware that I could go any day now," he says, "but I don't know why it doesn't concern me. I'm not afraid of it. I have the feeling that I'm gonna be alright."
Set to the ballad All My Love, the video was co-directed by Mary Wigmore and Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Jonze, whose movies include Being John Malkovich, Her and Adaptation. In an interview on the US chat show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Martin revealed that he and Van Dyke are neighbours in California, and that they had been friends for years.
On Parade - Peter Andre will headline London's New Year’s Day Parade, it has been announced. Andre will fly to the capital in the early hours of 1 January after a New Year's Eve show in Dubai to perform along the two-mile (about 3km) route through the West End. The free event begins at 12:00 GMT near Green Park Station and runs to Parliament Square via Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall. "It’s such a beautiful honour," said Andre.
Devil’s Music - The Devil Wears Prada musical has extended its West End run until October 2025, reporting that it has become the fastest-selling show in the Dominion Theatre’s history. With a score by Elton John and direction from Jerry Mitchell, the show opened on 1 December at the London venue with a gala performance which raised more than £750,000 for the Elton John Aids Foundation. The announcement of its extension comes less than two weeks into the musical’s run, which has received a mixed critical response.
Citizens’ boost - The long-delayed redevelopment of Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre has been given a boost of £8m by the Scottish government. The money, announced as part of the Scottish budget, takes the total cost of the project to £40m, double the figure projected when the theatre closed in 2018.
A statement released by the Citizens Theatre said the spiralling bill was due to “inflationary and macro-economic factors” caused by “unprecedented global events”. It also attributed it to “the complexity of renovating a historic building that has never had a comprehensive architectural overview in the 146 years it has been standing.” The redevelopment involves “wrapping” the original auditorium in a new building, improving its accessibility and sustainability, and creating a new 152-seat studio.
A plan to reopen this Christmas was shelved in June and the theatre is now expected to reopen next summer, with an announcement of its opening show due later this month.
(Jim Evans)
10 December 2024
