City of Lover was a one-off concert by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift held at the Olympia in Paris, France, on September 9, 2019.
On May 15, 2020, a television special titled Taylor Swift: City of Lover, filmed at the concert, was broadcast on ABC in the United States.
City of Lover and its corresponding TV special received positive reviews from media publications, who lauded Swift's stage presence and intimate engagement with fans.
The American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift released her seventh studio album, Lover, on August 23, 2019, through Republic Records.
[5] To celebrate the album's release, Swift held the City of Lover, a one-off concert, at the Olympia music hall in Paris, France, on September 9, 2019.
Prior to the event, tickets were not available for the public, but were reserved to fans who had bought the album to enter online contests from a select 37 countries around the world.
", "You Need to Calm Down", "Lover", "The Man", and the album tracks "The Archer", "Death by a Thousand Cuts", "Cornelia Street", and "Daylight".
"[10][14] During the six-song acoustic session,[11] Swift performed stripped-down versions of "Death by a Thousand Cuts", "Cornelia Street", and "The Man".
Hannah Mylrea from NME Swift's stage presence, vocals during the acoustic numbers, and intimate interaction with the audience.
[22] In an article for the French magazine Les Inrockuptibles, Ahlem Khattab noted that Swift had had limited commercial success in France, because she prioritized the English-speaking countries and East Asia.
Through the City of Lover concert, Swift proved herself to be a capable musician and performer, which could possibly pave a path to French success.
[12] Le Monde journalist Stéphane Davet was otherwise skeptical about whether City of Lover could turn Swift into a pop star in France, but concluded that it "doesn't matter".
Chris Willman of Variety lauded Swift's storytelling abilities through both her songs and her conversations regarding behind-the-scene conception of her music.
[23] In The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dan DeLuca considered the concert to be a showcase of Swift's "gift for marrying personal stories to undeniable pop hooks", but felt that the 42-minute run was not successful in promoting Lover—a "not-so-new-anymore album"—and the TV special should have included the whole set list.