Taylor Swift: what bonuses did singer-songwriter give Eras Tour truck drivers, back-up dancers, caterers?

Taylor Swift has reportedly given a jaw-dropping $100,000 bonus to each truck driver working on the United States leg of her epic The Eras Tour.

The singer-songwriter handed out the huge sum to those who have been transporting her concert equipment across the country just before her show in Santa Clara, California, on Saturday (29 July), according to TMZ. There are around 50 truckers currently on tour with Swift, meaning she paid out about $5m in bonuses.

Meanwhile, People reported that other staff working the US Eras Tour also received a “very generous amount”. Insiders told the magazine that Swift had gifted bonuses totalling over $55 million to her entourage - which included back-up dancers, sound technicians, caterers, and more.

The gesture has plenty of people talking - with lots flocking to social media to praise Swift. Timothy Dooner, host of award-winning podcast What The Truck?!?, confirmed that the reports about truck driver bonuses, writing on Twitter: “Can confirm this is true. Great work by Taylor Swift and her team getting these tour truckers paid.”

He also offered some insight into how much of a treat this particular sum is, adding: “Some context: according to the tour drivers I talked to, a typical tour bonus might be £2,000 - $5,000. (Sometimes nothing at all).”

The news of the bonuses comes as Swift is scheduled to perform six sold-out gigs at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, which seats 70,240 guests each night. Next Wednesday (9 August), the pop superstar will conclude the US leg of her tour and take a two-week break before she kicks of international dates in Latin America.

From there, Swift is set to head to Japan, Australia, and Singapore, and in May, she will start her huge 46-stop tour through Europe. In the UK, she is due to play in Wembley Stadium, London, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Principality Stadium, Cardiff, and Anfield Stadium, Liverpool.

The Eras Tour was destined to be a huge success even before it kicked off in March in Glendale, Arizona - with Swift selling out stadiums across the country within seconds of ticket sales opening. When she announced international dates in June, she sent fans into another frenzy of excitement and anticipation - and hundreds of thousands flocked to buy tickets, which for many proved to be a hugely-stressful experience.

It is perhaps not such a huge surprise then that the tour’s truck drivers, dancers, caterers, and sound technicians have been gifted such a generous sum, as initial reports suggest that the US leg raked in $1bn in ticket sales alone. Some have predicted that international dates could bring in even bigger sums, meaning that, when the dust settles, The Eras Tour could claim the title of the highest-grossing tour of all time.

This is not only good news for the staff working Swift’s hugely-popular concerts - but also for the singer-songwriter herself, who is predicted to become a billionaire once she completes her worldwide tour.

In addition to being a mega-commercial success, Swift’s three-hour concert extravaganza, which dazzles fans with a 44-song setlist of both her biggest hits and deepest cuts, has also received rave reviews. Critics have praised her careful crafting of the so-called “journey through all of her musical eras”, while others have commended her seamless shifts from heartfelt, acoustic ballads to mass sing-alongs of her more upbeat tracks - complete with back-up dancers, fireworks, and more.

If you want to know more about Swift’s The Eras Tour, head to NationalWorld’s Taylor Swift page - which has information on the surprise songs featured at each concert, the facts on which items are banned from stadiums, advice on how to get your hands on tickets, and all the latest news on the musician’s support acts.