Skift Take
Taylor Swift's concert showed Chicago can host large events. But the city's tourism industry is still combatting negative images around public safety.
Thousands of fans flooded Chicago’s Soldier Field for three nights in June to see Taylor Swift perform “You Need to Calm Down” on her Eras Tour. The city was packed: There were also out-of-towners attending the James Beards Awards and the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting.
In all, about 45,000 people descended on Chi-town. For hotels, it was the best weekend in the city's history, Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association President and CEO Michael Jacobson told ABC News. Occupancy hit 97 percent, according to Choose Chicago, the city’s destination marketing organization.