Here’s how much Taylor Swift’s Toronto concerts cost police for security, planning and to escort her motorcade

The city spent 10 days in the middle of November as the centre of the Taylor Swift universe, playing host to the Eras Tour and welcoming up to 500,000 visitors. Friendship bracelets adorned the wrists of every other pedestrian in the downtown core during that two-week stretch, with makeshift bracelets even placed on the Rogers Centre and mounted police horses.

Swift’s initial arrival into the city was met with some skepticism online after police had cleared the Gardiner Expressway for the mega pop star and provided officers to lead her motorcade through the city. A Toronto police spokesperson confirmed that the $1.9 million spent on policing costs included the police escort for her motorcade.

Officers provided “some scout cars and motorcycles” to Swift’s motorcade, a police spokesperson said at the time, but taxpayers didn’t foot the bill for her limo.

Much of the effort went to protecting the massive crowds that accumulated downtown on concert days, Pogue said, which present a “soft target” for would-be attackers. Months before her Toronto stint, Swift’s Eras Tour shows in Vienna were abruptly cancelled after two men were arrested in a foiled terror plot. A 19-year-old main suspect and a 17-year-old were reportedly inspired by the Islamic State group and Al Qaeda and officials said one had confessed to planning to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.”

“While the safety and security of Taylor Swift herself was always a consideration, the primary focus of the security planning was the protection of the 282,000 concert goers and thousands more members of the public who attended the area to celebrate the Eras event,” Pogue said.

Pogue said officers received “many compliments on social media about the professionalism and positivity of our officers,” and police even seized on the concert as a recruiting opportunity.

“The energy was incredible, and it was really inspiring to engage directly with so many women and girls,” Pogue added. “As the week went on, we saw a meaningful opportunity to promote the fact that we are trying to recruit talented women.”

“With this goal in mind, I invited 25 women members to engage with Swift fans and talk about career opportunities for women at the Toronto Police Service,” she said. “This engagement focused on fostering positive interactions that could inspire someone to consider a career in policing in their future.”