Taylor Swift Announces ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ at Eras Tour Show in Los Angeles

US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift performs during her Eras Tour at Sofi stadium in Inglewood, California, August 7, 2023. (AFP)
US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift performs during her Eras Tour at Sofi stadium in Inglewood, California, August 7, 2023. (AFP)
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Taylor Swift Announces ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ at Eras Tour Show in Los Angeles

US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift performs during her Eras Tour at Sofi stadium in Inglewood, California, August 7, 2023. (AFP)
US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift performs during her Eras Tour at Sofi stadium in Inglewood, California, August 7, 2023. (AFP)

Taylor Swift closed the 2023 US leg of her landmark Eras Tour on Wednesday in Los Angeles in a big way, announcing the fourth edition of her re-recording project: “1989 (Taylor’s Version).”

After playing a few tracks from her “1989” era live, the pop superstar approached the center of the stage with an acoustic guitar in hand and suggested to the audience that she had been working on something big.

“Instead of telling you about it, we’ll just show you,” she told the crowd as the screen illuminated behind her. “'1989 (Taylor’s Version)' available Oct. 27!” she cheered.

Just last month, Swift released her re-recording of “Speak Now” and soon claimed the record for the woman with the most No. 1 albums in history. The “Taylor's Version” projects were sparked by music manager Scooter Braun's purchase and subsequent sale of her early catalog.

Aside from breaking some news, across more than three hours at SoFi Stadium, Swift offered fans a bevy of career-spanning tracks — less a greatest hits collection, and more a live celebration of an artist in her veterancy.

Throughout, it was as if the ground shook with the rapturous sound of 70,000 fans scream-singing along to her hits and deep cuts alike. This was Taylor Swift's house — filled with fans in light Taylor Swift cosplay (pink dresses for her 2019 album “Lover,” black leather and snakeskin prints for 2017's “Reputation,” sequins and A-line skirts for 2014's “1989,” and so on).

In a summer stacked with superstar tours celebrating giant new releases — like the larger-than-life experiences of Beyoncé's "Renaissance” World Tour and Drake’s 56-date “It Was All a Blur” tour — Taylor Swift's lookback Eras Tour stands proudly among them.



German City Renamed ‘Swiftkirchen’ for Taylor Swift Concerts Gets 1,400 Bids for the Signs

Schoolgirl Aleshanee Westhoff shows a "Swiftkirchen" town sign in honor of musician Taylor Swift in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (dpa via AP)
Schoolgirl Aleshanee Westhoff shows a "Swiftkirchen" town sign in honor of musician Taylor Swift in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (dpa via AP)
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German City Renamed ‘Swiftkirchen’ for Taylor Swift Concerts Gets 1,400 Bids for the Signs

Schoolgirl Aleshanee Westhoff shows a "Swiftkirchen" town sign in honor of musician Taylor Swift in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (dpa via AP)
Schoolgirl Aleshanee Westhoff shows a "Swiftkirchen" town sign in honor of musician Taylor Swift in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (dpa via AP)

The German city of Gelsenkirchen, which temporarily renamed itself “Swiftkirchen” before the American superstar played three concerts there in mid-July, said Wednesday it received about 1,400 bids from Germany and abroad for signs it put up with the name.

The new name was one of a flurry of fan attractions around the concerts on July 17, 18 and 19. The city then held an auction for 20 original “Swiftkirchen” signs.

The highest offer was 3,000 euros ($3,245), and the 20 highest bidders will be informed by email, the city said in a statement, adding that a total sum for the auction will be announced once all payments have been received. It said one of the winning bids came from outside Germany, but didn't specify where.

The proceeds will go to a center for girls, a food bank for children and a shelter for women in Gelsenkirchen.

Another “Swiftkirchen” sign is now on display at Germany's museum of post-World War II history in Bonn, the Haus der Geschichte, the city said.

A former coal mining city, Gelsenkirchen is one of Germany's poorest. It's known for the soccer team Schalke, a traditional heavyweight currently in the second division, and its stadium, which sometimes attracts international entertainers like Swift.