Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Fans attending this weekend’s Taylor Swift concerts at Lucas Oil Stadium aren’t the only ones that will be passing out friendship bracelets.
Officials with the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, where Swift performed three concerts this past weekend, shipped their giant friendship bracelets to Indianapolis, with plans for the display to be affixed to the north side of Lucas Oil Stadium during the performer’s three-night stay in Indy.
“Those of us in the tourism industry talk to each other all the time and share information that allows us to do our jobs better,” said CIB Executive Director Andy Mallon. “The sharing of a friendship bracelet, however, takes things to a whole new level.”
The 140-foot-long strands, consisting of 7-foot inflatables resembling beads, were designed by contemporary artist Shawn Kolodny and will be affixed below the north window of the stadium on Thursday by Indianapolis-based Sport Graphics and the Stagehands Union.
The gesture—which emulates the trading of human-sized bracelets between concertgoers at Swift’s shows during her ongoing Eras Tour—stemmed from a conversation between Superdome General Manager Evan Holmes and Eric Neuburger, director of Lucas Oil Stadium.
“Indy has a longstanding tradition of cooperative relationships, and they don’t stop at the downtown mile square outline, or the city limits, or a state line,” said Neuburger. “We like to believe that hospitality has no limits and friendships can exist everywhere. We saw the bracelets on the Superdome early on and thought it was such a cool idea, so we happily accepted the offer to bring them to Indy and are grateful for New Orleans for its generosity.”
More than 200,000 visitors are expected in Indianapolis through Sunday and hotel rooms across central Indiana have been virtually sold out for weeks.
Because the display is property of the Superdome, it is unclear whether Indianapolis will pass the bracelets along to Toronto, where Swift will perform six shows from Nov. 14-23.
“The overwhelming support, joy, and enthusiasm we had the opportunity to experience by hosting Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour and her fan base was immeasurable,” Abby Jones, New Orleans director of sales and marketing, said of the gesture to Indianapolis. “It was felt not only by our team members and partners at Caesars Superdome but by the entire city. When given the opportunity to pay this forward and continue the connections, we jumped at the chance to do so.”
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.