INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Since adopting its “equity priorities” in 2016, the Indianapolis city government’s annual grants program has significantly expanded access to funding for the local creative economy, increasing from 45 organizations to 91.

This marks a record for 2024’s investment.

For further insights into the significance of the initiative, WISH-TV contributor Gloria Jimenez joined News 8 on Monday.

The annual grants program has remained core to the city’s support for arts and culture since 1987.

Nearly $1.5 million was awarded to 91 nonprofit arts and culture organizations this year. This funding is substantial enough to generate multi-year support, ensuring stability and future planning, which is a notable win for the community.

Organizations that received this funding were rated based on community impact, artistic alignment, and organizational capacity. One such organization benefiting from this program is El Sistema Indianapolis.

The annual grants program’s expansion underscores the need for fostering a vibrant creative sector and supporting local cultural initiatives.

American Swifties felt like they were somewhere else.

Like they were in Paris.

No, wait, they were really in Paris.

Taylor Swift is back on the road again on the Eras Tour, and she performed in Paris, France over the weekend. Several American Swifties were in attendance at the shows because they found it was more affordable to buy tickets to the Paris show — and book flights and hotels than to even buy one ticket to one of the remaining U.S. tour dates.

While at the Eras Tour show in Paris, Stephanie Gottschalk of Wisconsin told USA Today that she was looking at taking her daughter to one of the Indianapolis concert dates, but it was actually cheaper to go to France.

“The tickets to go to Indianapolis, I checked, are like $5,000 a piece,” Gottschalk told USA Today at the Eras Tour in Paris. “For us to fly here, stay in the hotel and buy the tickets was about $5,000. So half the price and we got to experience Europe. We got to see the Eiffel Tower.”

New Eras Tour setlist debuted in Paris: Taylor Swift has restructured her Eras Tour. Is this the show we’ll see in Indianapolis?

If you still want to see Taylor Swift and are considering trying to get tickets abroad, you can check Stubhub for ticket prices to the following shows. Just follow the link and change the location.

• Stockholm, Sweden: May 17-19
• Lisbon, Portugal: May 24-25
• Madrid, Spain: May 29-30
• Lyon, France: June 2-3
• Edinburgh, Scotland: June 6-9
• Liverpool, England: June 13-15
• Cardiff, Wales: June 18
• London, England: June 21-23
• Dublin, Ireland: June 28-30
• Amsterdam, Netherlands: July 4-6
• Zürich, Switzerland: July 9-10
• Milan, Italy: July 13-14
• Gelsenkirchen, Germany: July 17-19
• Hamburg, Germany: July 23-24
• Munich, Germany: July 27-28
• Warsaw, Poland: August 1-3
• Vienna, Austria: August 8-10
• London, England: August 15-20

Swift returns to the U.S. for the final leg of the Eras Tour in America starting in Miami Oct. 18-20; followed by New Orleans Oct. 25-27; and then, finally, her shows in Indianapolis Nov. 1-3 before heading out for a few more international tour dates.

• Toronto, Ontario: November 14-16, 21-23
• Vancouver, British Columbia: December 6-8

Taylor Swift announced in August she is bringing her “Eras Tour” to Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium for three nights, Nov. 1, 2 and 3.

You may still have a chance to see the Eras Tour in November, but they may be expensive.

Ticket sales through Ticketmaster are officially over. However, several marked-up tickets are still available for the Indianapolis shows on re-selling sites like StubHub and SeatGeek.

Most tickets are priced are anywhere from $1,700 to almost $3,000 each, and the cheapest tickets are for seats near the top of the bowl. Floor seats are anywhere from $4,000 to almost $8,500.

Katie Wiseman is a trending news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at klwiseman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman.

The 108th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for May 26, 2024, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Thirty-four drivers are set to compete for the traditional 33 spots on the starting grid. The race is 200 laps on the 2.5-mile oval.

Here are the broad strokes: Fourteen countries are represented, mostly from the United States (13 drivers). Eight former Indy 500 winners are competing. There are seven rookies, the most since 2014, when there were also seven.

Five teams, totaling 18 drivers, use Honda engines; six teams, also totaling 16 drivers, use Chevrolet engines.

Here are the details about the Indy 500 hopefuls:

Indy 500 2024 drivers’ ages

The average Indy 500 experience of the entrants is 6.5 starts, and the average age is 31.2.

There are two 19-year-olds this year: Nolan Siegel is one month younger than Kyffin Simpson. (A.J. Foyt IV, who raced on his 19th birthday in 2003, is the youngest Indy 500 starter.)

The oldest driver is Helio Castroneves at 49. (A.J. Foyt is the oldest-ever starter, at 57 years old in 1992. He is the grandfather of the youngest-ever starter.)

Indianapolis 500 2024 teams

Team: Driver (car number)

Team Penske: Josef Newgarden (No. 2), Scott McLaughlin (No. 3), Will Power (No. 12)

A.J. Foyt Racing: Santino Ferrucci (No. 14), Sting Ray Robb (No. 41)

Arrow McLaren: Pato O’Ward (No. 5), Callum Ilott (No. 6), Alexander Rossi (No. 7), Kyle Larson (No. 17)

Chip Ganassi Racing: Kyffin Simpson (No. 4), Linus Lundqvist (No. 8), Scott Dixon (No. 9), Alex Palou (No. 10), Marcus Armstrong (No. 11)

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: Graham Rahal (No. 15), Pietro Fittipaldi (No. 30), Christian Lundgaard (No. 45), Takuma Sato (No. 75)

Dale Coyne Racing: Nolan Siegel (No. 18), Katherine Legge (No. 51)

Ed Carpenter Racing: Christian Rasmussen (No. 20), Rinus VeeKay (No. 21), Ed Carpenter (No. 33)

Dreyer and Reinbold/Cusick: Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 23), Conor Daly (No. 24)

Andretti Autosport: Colton Herta (No. 26), Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27), Marcus Ericsson (No. 28), Marco Andretti (No. 98)

Juncos Hollinger Racing: Romain Grosjean (No. 77), Agustin Canapino (No. 78)

Meyer Shank Racing: Helio Castroneves (No. 06), Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60), Tom Blomqvist (No. 66)

Indy 500 2024 drivers’ nationality

13 drivers are from the United States: Andretti, Carpenter, Daly, Ferrucci, Herta, Hunter-Reay, Kirkwood, Larson, Newgarden, Rahal, Robb, Rossi, Siegel

3 drivers are from England: Blomqvist, Ilott, Legge

3 drivers are from New Zealand: Armstrong, Dixon, McLaughlin

3 drivers are from Sweden: Ericsson, Lundqvist, Rosenqvist

2 drivers are from Brazil: Castroneves, Fittipaldi

2 drivers are from Denmark: Lundgaard, Rasmussen

1 driver is from each of these nations: Argentina (Canapino), Australia (Power), Bahamas (Simpson), Japan (Sato), Mexico (O’Ward), Netherlands (VeeKay), Spain (Palou), Switzerland (Grosjean)

Indianapolis 500 2024 engines

These teams use Honda engines: Andretti, Ganassi, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, Meyer Shank, Coyne

These teams use Chevrolet engines: Arrow McLaren, Juncos Hollinger, Foyt, Penske, Carpenter, Dreyer and Reinbold/Cusick

Indy 500 2024 former winners in the race

Eight previous winners are entered in this year’s race: Castroneves (2001, ’02, ’09, ’21), Sato (2017, ’20), Dixon (’08), Hunter-Reay (’14), Rossi (’16), Power (’18), Ericsson (’22), Newgarden (’23).

Indianapolis 500 2024 rookies

These drivers are attempting to make the race for the first time: Armstrong, Blomqvist, Larson, Lundqvist, Rasmussen, Siegel, Simpson.

Indy 500 2024 driver facts

Includes car number, driver name, age, nationality, team, engine, Indy 500 history

No. 98 Marco Andretti: 37 years old from the United States (Nazareth, Pa.); drives for Andretti Global (Honda); 18 Indy 500 starts with a best finish of 2nd in his rookie season of 2006. He was the pole-sitter in 2020.

No. 11 Marcus Armstrong: 23 years old from New Zealand; drives for Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda). He is an Indy 500 rookie.

No. 66 Tom Blomqvist: 30 years old from England; drives for Meyer Shank Racing (Honda). He is an Indy 500 rookie.

No. 78 Agustin Canapino: 34 years old from Argentina; drives for Juncos Hollinger Racing (Chevrolet); he finished 26th as a rookie in 2023.

No. 33 Ed Carpenter: 42 years old from the United States (Indianapolis); drives for Ed Carpenter Racing (he’s IndyCar’s only owner/driver; Chevrolet); 20 Indy 500 starts with a best finish of 2nd in 2018. He is a three-time pole-sitter (2013, ’14, ’18).

No. 06 Helio Castroneves: 49 years old and is from Brazil; drives for Meyer Shank Racing (Honda); 23 Indy 500 starts, winning a record-sharing four times (2001, ’02, ’09, ’21). A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears have also won the race four times. Castroneves is a four-time pole-sitter (2003, ’07, ’09, ’10).

No. 24 Conor Daly: 32 years old from the United States (Noblesville, Indiana); drives for Dreyer and Reinbold/Cusick (Chevrolet); 10 Indy 500 starts with a best finish of 6th in 2022.

No. 9 Scott Dixon: 43 years old from New Zealand; drives for Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda); 21 Indy 500 starts, winning in 2008. He is a five-time pole-sitter (2008, ’15, ’17, ’21-22).

No. 28 Marcus Ericsson: 33 years old from Sweden; drives for Andretti Global (Honda); 4 Indy 500 starts, winning in 2022.

No. 14 Santino Ferrucci: 25 years old from the United States (Woodbury, Conn.); drives for A.J. Foyt Racing (Chevrolet); 5 Indy 500 starts (top-10 finish in all), with a best finish of 3rd in 2023.

No. 30 Pietro Fittipaldi: 27 years old from Brazil; drives for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda); he finished 25th in the 2021 Indy 500.

No. 77 Romain Grosjean: 37 years old from Switzerland, though he was born in France; drives for Juncos Hollinger Racing (Honda); best Indy 500 finish of 30th in 2023.

No. 26 Colton Herta: 24 years old from the United States (Valencia, Calif.); drives for Andretti Global (Honda); 5 Indy 500 starts, with a best finish of 8th in 2020.

No. 23 Ryan Hunter-Reay: 43 years old from the United States (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.); drives for Dreyer and Reinbold/Cusick (Chevrolet); 14 Indy 500 starts, winning in 2014.

No. 77 Callum Ilott: 25 years old from England; drives for Arrow McLaren (Chevrolet); 2 Indy 500 starts with a best finish of 12th in 2023.

No. 27 Kyle Kirkwood: 25 years old from the United States (Jupiter, Fla.); drives for Andretti Global (Honda); 2 Indy 500 starts; finished 17th as a rookie in 2022.

No. 17 Kyle Larson: 31 years old from the United States (Elk Grove, California); drives for Arrow McLaren and Hendrick (Chevrolet); he is an Indy 500 rookie attempting to drive Indy and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

No. 51 Katherine Legge: 43 years old from England; drives for Dale Coyne Racing (Honda); 3 Indy 500 starts, with a best finish of 12th in 2012. She is one of 9 women to race in the Indy 500.

No. 45 Christian Lundgaard: 22 years old from Denmark; drives for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda); 2 Indy 500 starts, finishing 18th in 2022.

No. 8 Linus Lundqvist: 25 years old from Sweden; drives for Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda); he is an Indy 500 rookie.

No. 3 Scott McLaughlin: 30 years old from New Zealand; drives Team Penske (Chevrolet); 3 Indy 500 starts, with a best finish of 14th in 2023.

No. 2 Josef Newgarden: 33 years old from the United States (Hendersonville, Tenn.); drives for Team Penske (Chevrolet); 12 Indy 500 starts, winning in 2023.

No. 5 Pato O’Ward: 25 years old from Mexico; drives for Arrow McLaren (Chevrolet); 4 Indy 500 starts, finishing 2nd in 2022.

No. 10 Alex Palou: 27 years old from Spain; drives for Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda); 4 Indy 500 starts, with a best finish of 2nd in 2021.

No. 12 Will Power: 43 years old from Australia; drives for Team Penske (Chevrolet); 16 Indy 500 starts, winning in 2018.

No. 15 Graham Rahal: 35 years old from the United States (Lexington, Ohio); drives for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda); he has been in 16 Indy 500s, with a best finish of 3rd in 2011 and ’20.

No. 20 Christian Rasmussen: 23 years old from Denmark; drives for Ed Carpenter Racing; he is an Indy 500 rookie.

No. 41 Sting Ray Robb: 22 years old from the United States (Payette, Idaho); drives for A.J. Foyt Racing (Chevrolet); he finished 31st as a rookie in 2023.

No. 60 Felix Rosenqvist: 31 years old from Sweden; drives for Meyer Shank Racing (Honda); 5 Indy 500 starts, with a best finish of 4th in 2022.

No. 7 Alexander Rossi: 32 years old from the United States (Auburn, Calif.); drives for Arrow McLaren (Chevrolet); 8 Indy 500 starts, winning as a rookie in 2016.

No. 75 Takuma Sato: 47 years old from Japan; drives for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda); 14 Indy 500 starts, winning in 2017 and ’20.

No. 18 Nolan Siegel: 19 years old from the United States (Palo Alto, California); drives for Dale Coyne Racing (Honda); he is an Indy 500 rookie.

No. 4 Kyffin Simpson: 19 years old from The Bahamas; drives for Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda); he is an Indy 500 rookie.

No. 21 Rinus VeeKay: 23 years old from the Netherlands; drives for Ed Carpenter Racing (Chevrolet); 4 Indy 500 starts, with a best finish of 8th in 2021.

IndyCar Series points standings

(Through May 11)

1. Alex Palou, 152
2. Will Power, 140
3. Colton Herta, 127
4. Scott Dixon, 127
5. Felix Rosenqvist, 107
6. Scott McLaughlin, 88
7. Pato O’Ward, 88
8. Kyle Kirkwood, 86
9. Christian Lundgaard, 84
10. Alexander Rossi, 70
11. Marcus Armstrong, 68
12. Graham Rahal, 63