The 1989 World Tour

The 1989 World Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her fifth studio album, ''1989'' (2014). Swift announced the tour's first dates in North America, Europe, Japan, and Oceania in November and December 2014. She announced additional dates for Singapore and China in June 2015, and a final announcement of the third show in Melbourne was made the following month.

The tour took seven months to plan and three months to rehearse. As with her previous tours, Swift was involved in the 1989 World Tour's planning and stage design. She aimed to create an intimate experience for concertgoers, which she found challenging for shows held in stadiums. The set list included songs predominantly taken from ''1989'', with additional songs from Swift's older albums transformed into a more synth-oriented production, to accompany the album's songs. For different shows, she incorporated a random song from her back catalog. The tour began on May 5, 2015, in Tokyo, Japan, and concluded on December 12, 2015, in Melbourne, Australia, spanning 85 shows. For many of the shows, Swift invited special guests onstage with her, including musicians, actors/actresses, athletes, and models whom the media called her "squad".

The world's highest-grossing tour of 2015, the 1989 World Tour sold over 2.278 million tickets and grossed over US$250.7 million. It was acclaimed by critics, receiving praise for Swift's stage presence and connection with the audience. Swift's appearances with an array of special guests, meanwhile, attracted commentary regarding her new image as a pop star—having previously been known as a country singer-songwriter—and her sense of authenticity that she had maintained. On December 20, 2015, Swift released a concert film entitled ''The 1989 World Tour Live'' in partnership with Apple Music. It was filmed at the tour's November 28, 2015 show at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Australia, and features additional scenes of special guests from other shows throughout North America and Europe.

Background and development

Taylor Swift released her fifth studio album ''1989'' on October 27, 2014. The synth-pop album was Swift's first album marketed as pop music, departing from her image as a country artist. It was a commercial success, selling over one million copies within its first week of release in the United States. On November 3, 2014, via her Twitter account, Swift announced the first details of her world tour in support of ''1989''. Australian singer Vance Joy was announced to be an opening act, and tickets would go sale on for North American fans on November 14.

In a November 2014 interview with ''Time'' magazine, Swift said that the set list would primarily consist of songs from ''1989''. For songs taken from her older catalog, she wanted them to fit in with the synth-heavy production of ''1989'' while keeping the "live feel" of live performances. Swift, as always, was heavily involved in the tour's planning and production design. She acknowledged the challenge of playing in stadiums, expressing her goal for "those people in the very top row ofeel like they got an intimate, personal experience". In an interview with KIIS-FM in December 2014, she revealed that she knew what the stage would look like, as well as knowing that "all the fans seem to be saying that they really don't want any song rom ''1989''left off the setlist".

Swift first announced the North American and European dates in November 2014. The tour was set to kick off in Bossier City, Louisiana on May 20, 2015, and conclude in Tampa, Florida on October 31, 2015. Additional shows were held across the U.S., Canada, England, Scotland, Germany, and the Netherlands. A month after announcing the first dates, Swift added further shows, visiting Japan, and Australia. The first date of the tour would be in Japan in May 2015, and the shows in Australia would take place in November–December 2015. In June 2015, Swift announced further shows in Asia, visiting China and Singapore in November 2015. The following month, Swift announced a third show in Melbourne, Australia, which would also wrap up the 1989 World Tour on December 12, 2015. Opening acts for the tour included Vance Joy, Shawn Mendes, Haim, and James Bay.

The tour took seven months to plan before three months of music rehearsals, four weeks of stage rehearsals and 10 days of two-a-days dress rehearsals. Swift traveled for the tour with 26 semi-trailer trucks and 11 buses carrying 146 people from city to city. Additionally, about 125–150 people were hired in each city to help with the load in and stage setup. The entire load in and stage setup process took between six and eight hours for arenas, with stadiums requiring an additional day. Swift chose two designs for the trucks' vinyl wrap; 13 carry one design and 13 have the other. Concertgoers were given light-up bracelets that could be programmed to change color throughout each show, a practice that was also later implemented in Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour (2018).

Concert synopsis

The shows on the 1989 World Tour featured a nearly identical set list spanning the majority of the ''1989'' studio album, with the exception of "Wonderland" (a ''1989'' deluxe bonus track), and different shows had different guest stars intertwined between Swift's performances. The concert began with black-and-white projections of street scenes, which subsequently served as the backdrop to the performance of " Welcome to New York". Swift then emerged from beneath the stage to sing the song, and subsequently " New Romantics", surrounded by a dozen of male dancers. For the followup performance of " Blank Space", Swift sang the song before erupting into a call-and-response climax where Swift struck a golf club against a black lacquer cane, whilst also shouting the name of the city where each concert is held. Swift proceeded with an industrial rock-oriented version of "I Knew You Were Trouble", which she performed as the shirtless male dancers delivered a sensual choreography.

After the performance of "I Wish You Would", Swift appeared in a glowing pink polka-dot dress to perform "How You Get the Girl", accompanied by a choreography inspired by the 1952 musical '' Singin' in the Rain'' that was performed by the male dancers twirling neon umbrellas. The show continued with "I Know Places", during which Swift wore thigh-high black boots and garters. The song's intense lyrics and production were accompanied by a performance of Swift being chased by the masked dancers through multiple mobile doors as she sang "They are the hunters / We are the foxes." After the song ended, Swift performed "All You Had to Do Was Stay", which was followed by either "You Are in Love" or a customized number that she performed differently at several shows. "All You Had to Do Was Stay" was excluded from the set list for several shows. Swift introduced "Clean" by sharing lessons she had learnt in personal life with her audiences. After "Clean", Swift performed a synth-oriented version of " Love Story" while standing on an elevated platform that whisked around the stadium.

Swift proceeded with "Style", during which she performed while strutting down the runway-styled stage in a sparkling dress, and "This Love". For the performance of " Bad Blood", Swift dressed in a top-to-toe black leather suit. She then performed a rock version of "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" on an electric guitar, in an intense atmosphere with her hair messed up. Afterwards, Swift emerged from beneath the stage again, and performed a mashup of " Enchanted" and " Wildest Dreams" on a grand piano. She followed with " Out of the Woods", which she performed in a sparkling bodysuit as giant paper planes flew overhead. The show concluded with " Shake It Off", during which Swift and the dancers danced on a spinning platform above the crowd as fireworks and confetti dashed across the venue.

Adjustments and special guests

For different shows, Swift replaced "You Are in Love" with "Wonderland", another ''1989'' deluxe album track, or songs from her earlier albums. The songs included " Should've Said No" (from 2006's ''Taylor Swift''); "You Belong with Me", " Fifteen" and " Fearless" (from 2008's '' Fearless''); "Mean", " Sparks Fly" and " Mine" (from 2010's '' Speak Now''); "Holy Ground", " All Too Well", and "Red" (from 2012's ''Red''). During the second show in Santa Clara, California on August 15, 2015, Swift dedicated "Never Grow Up" (from ''Speak Now'') to her godson, the second child of her friend, actress Jaime King.

A feature of the 1989 World Tour that attracted attention was its array of unannounced special guests that Swift invited onstage with her. Swift explained during an interview with Apple Music's Beats 1 Radio that since her fans could have expected what the show would look like through social media posts prior to attending, she wanted to incorporate an element of surprise: "They know the set list, they know the costumes, they've looked it up. That presented me with an interesting issue. I love the element of surprise… so going into this tour, having people pop on stage that you didn't expect to see." Though Swift had invited musicians onstage with her during previous tours, she this time invited singers, models, athletes, and actors/actresses across "every type of field". A notable example included the show at London's Hyde Park in July 2015, during which models Martha Hunt, Kendall Jenner, Karlie Kloss, Gigi Hadid, and Cara Delevingne joined Swift onstage, which was noted by the media as Swift's "squad"—her representation of her newly established feminist identity. While some of the guests were scheduled beforehand, others were improvised; Swift asked singer John Legend to join her onstage only 40 minutes prior to showtime, after spotting him in the audience.

As the tour went on, special guests ranged from Hollywood actress Julia Roberts to counterculture figure Joan Baez. Nick Levine from the BBC
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