Welcome to… Tampa: Taylor Swift Named Honorary Mayor, Gets Key to City in Honor of ‘Eras’ Dates
Written by djfrosty on April 11, 2023
Some people roll out the red carpet when Taylor Swift comes to town, while others give the singer the truly royal treatment. That explains why Tampa, FL mayor Jane Castor upped her game in advance of Taylor’s upcoming three-night stand at Raymond James Stadium.
The singer will kick off the run on Thursday (April 13) and in advance Castor lavished a pair of honors on the singer according to a video the Mayor posted on Twitter on Monday along with a very Swiftie message full of clasic Easter eggs: “#TAMPA are you ready for it? We’ve got a reputation to uphold!! Tag @taylorswift13 if you agree ‘Mayor Swift’ has a nice ring to it.”
In the one-minute video, Castor said, “Hey Taylor, this is Mayor Jane Castor. We are so excited to welcome you to Tampa.” Noting that the city’s weather “never goes out of style,” Castor said Swifties had spoken and were eager to find out what Tampa was going to do to welcome the singer to their city.
“We know Glendale changed its name, Arlington made a street sign, and Vegas illuminated their Gateway Arches, but here in Tampa, we’ve got a reputation to uphold,” Castor said of the stunts pulled by cities on earlier “Eras” dates to make the stops a little more special. “We want to go bigger. So I want to present you with a key to the city.”
Castor wasn’t done, though. She also invited Swift to be the city’s honorary mayor for a day. “Mayor Swift has a nice ring to it,” Castor said as she opened up a wooden box containing Taylor’s magic key. “We can’t wait to welcome you and your fans to Tampa (Taylor’s Version),” the actual Mayor added with a wink.
A follow-up tweet noted that in addition to the key and honorary mayorship, the city will light up its Old City Hall, the Tampa River Walk and downtown bridges in red in honor of the tour. Swift will be joined by beabadoobee and Gayle on the first night and beabadoobee and Gracie Abrams on Friday (April 14) and Saturday (April 15).
See the tweets below.