If fans are left to their own devices, one of the first things Toronto’s incoming mayor will do is declare a municipal holiday in honor of Beyoncé’s latest tour stop in the city to kick off her North American shows.
“I feel like Toronto is going to shut down this weekend,” said Timothy Achacoso, a Beyoncé fan buying a T-shirt emblazoned with the star’s holographic horse at a pop-up shop in the city’s downtown luxury shopping district .
“Olivia Chow should literally make this Beyoncé weekend,” Mr. Achacoso, a customer service agent, said of Toronto’s newly elected mayor.
With two shows scheduled in Toronto this weekend, Beyoncé kicks off the North American leg of her first solo tour in seven years in a city still rebounding from the pandemic, which shut down live shows and limited attending the concert below capacity.
His blockbuster shows, part of the Renaissance World Tour, are expected to trigger gridlock around the concert venue, the Rogers Center, with crowds of pedestrians spilling into the city’s downtown streets.
Mr. is preparing Achacoso estimated a one-hour wait to get on public transit and get home after the show, an estimate based on past concert-going experiences for megastars like Lady Gaga, who performed at the Rogers Center last summer.
“She’s an icon, she’s a legend, so I feel like I’ll never stop being a Beyoncé fan,” he said.
This week, thousands of fans flocked to the pop-up shop that opened Wednesday on the third floor of department store Holt Renfrew. The store sold T-shirts — including a Toronto exclusive that said “Shut This City Down” — hooded sweatshirts and other concert memorabilia. The shiny silver “Renaissance” cowboy hat sold out on the store’s second day of business.
“We’re going up the escalator and it’s like, ‘They’re playing Beyoncé,’ and we’re ready,” said Maya Coplin, a graphic designer who traveled from New York for the show, and bought a tour book at the store.
Ms. Coplin and his Toronto-based friend, Victor Guo, bought their tickets for about 200 Canadian dollars each, or $150, compared with prices closer to $500 for nosebleed seats at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, he said.
It will mean a better look at the choreography that Mr. Guo rehearses at home in preparation for the concert, especially for numbers like “Black Parade,” in which Beyoncé is known to bring out her son girl, Blue Ivy, to perform. .
“I specifically learned that whole work,” he said.
Choreography classes to learn the dance moves from Beyoncé’s music videos and past tours — or “Beyography” — were once so hot in Toronto that Nicky Nasrallah taught them to groups of up to 35 people nine times a week for a year, ending around. 2018.
Mr. Nasrallah, a Toronto drag performer named Selena Vyle, watched Beyoncé’s Mrs. Carter Show tour in three cities, the Formation tour four times, and will be a VIP section at the Sunday show.
“His concerts are church, as much as they are a spiritual awakening,” he said, adding that the tour’s tribute to queer dance music will be a more playful contrast to heavier themes related to racism and betrayal of his previous shows.
“I know that even before the music starts, I will get a surge of energy in my body, because that’s what his concerts bring,” he said. “They lift you up. It’s like you can’t even stand up anymore.”
This concert, and a September show scheduled in Vancouver, is a chance for Canadian fans to capitalize on the global hype that will elude them when it comes to another pop star on tour: Taylor Swift.
Earlier this week, the musician announced 14 new shows on the Eras Tour, with Canadian cities notably absent from the roster. This caused a plea to Ms. Swift on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s social media.
“I know the Canadian places love you,” said Mr. Trudeau, referring to his song “Cruel Summer” in a post on Twitter. “So, don’t make it another harsh summer. We hope to see you again.” (Ms. Swift has, so far, not responded).
Beyoncé fans like Justin Major, a customer service agent at a software company, tend to line up early at the Rogers Centre, formerly known as the SkyDome, Toronto’s baseball field and concert venue, which depending on the configuration, can seat more than 50,000.
“All my friends know this is the only album I’ve been listening to since last year,” Mr. Major said, noting that he played “Renaissance” for 10 hours straight on a recent flight back from Egypt.
He was willing to travel all the way to Miami to see Beyoncé, but managed to get front-stage tickets for 600 Canadian dollars, or about $451, at Saturday’s show.
“I knew going into the concert that if I spent the money, I would get a show, and not just backup singing,” said Mr. Major, 25. “I’ll take visuals, performance, dance, the whole shebang.”