Bob Mackin
Road closures
Police, fire and ambulance vehicles and personnel at the ready on Beatty, Robson and Pacific, along with heavy duty civic dump trucks to prevent any drivers with evil intent. Even a street-level, Vancouver Police-uniformed sniper. Expect even more of the same when the FIFA World Cup 26 comes to town in 18 months.
Street and sidewalk choirs
B.C. Place Stadium general manager Chris May implored fans without tickets to stay away. But Terry Fox Plaza and the RED selfie sign became a magnet for Swifties anyway. The best-kept secret? The sound quality on the plaza between the Boston Pizza and the Pivotal Building.
Idol inside, idling outside
Chicago concert tour logistics specialist Upstaging parked its 18-wheelers on Pacific Boulevard, where packs of Swifties sang along under the oversized Eras Tour friendship bracelet affixed to the stadium facade.
Several of the Eras Tour trucks had their windows curtained and engines idling.
The City of Vancouver anti-idling bylaw contains an exception for commercial vehicles attached to equipment and the equipment needs power in order to run. The big rigs contain ample sleeping compartments.
Temps
A group of foreign workers in high-visibility vests mustered outside B.C. Place’s east freight compound with an hour to go in the show. Ostensibly prepared to enter the building to clean-up and prepare for the third night.
Surprise closure
FIFA closed the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in B.C. Place during the Canada 2015 Women’s World Cup. The next, most-female attraction was Swift. Staff expected a full, Eras Tour concert-weekend closure. They were suddenly notified at the end of November to close Dec. 1-10. A missed opportunity, after so many Swifties have become instant footbal fans over the last year.
The shrine to B.C.’s amateur and professional sports history reopens Dec. 11.
The Eras Tour ends Dec. 8 at B.C. Place Stadium. The top-grossing pop tour in history will break all local records set by the Jacksons when they performed at B.C. Place on their Victory Tour Nov. 16-18, 1984.
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