London is set to receive another gold rush this week as Taylor Swift returns for the second UK leg of her Eras tour.
The global pop sensation, who has already dazzled London with three dates in June, will perform five more shows in the capital, which is expected to generate £108.5m for the city’s economy, according to Globaldata figures commissioned by Vouchercodes.
Each of the five shows is anticipated to generate £21.7m as over 773,000 Swifties descend on London for these concerts.
Across her 15 UK tour dates, including stops in Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Liverpool earlier this summer, Swift’s Eras Tour is set to pump £700m into the UK economy.
That’s the equivalent of every person in the country spending an extra £10.28 — a clear sign that so-called Swiftonomics is alive and well.
The term ‘Swiftonomics’ has been coined to describe the economic impact of Swift’s tours on countries’ economies, a phenomenon seen with other megastars like Beyoncé.
Last December, Monzo reported a 460 per cent spike in spending on event tickets when Swift’s Eras Tour dropped on Ticketmaster, and a 340 per cent surge when Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour went on sale.
London’s retail and hospitality sectors are also set to benefit over the next week, with a £14.5m boost expected each day Swift takes to the stage.
On top of that, a further £39.4m will be spent on accommodation as fans stay, stay, stay in the capital, braving the steep prices that have already seen some hotel rates soar around Swift’s concert dates.
Transport costs are also high, with London topping the charts as the most expensive UK venue to reach. Over the eight tour dates, it is anticipated that £44.3m will be spent on travel, equal to an average of £57.28 per London fan.
While the Eras Tour is expected to be the highest-grossing ever, its impact on national economic statistics is still uncertain. Earlier this year, economists at Nomura speculated that, despite the tour’s enormous success, it’s unlikely to give a noticeable bump to the UK’s GDP.
However, some analysts recently warned that the “Swift effect” could stall progress on services inflation.
Economists at Capital Economics have noted that services inflation remained stubbornly high in May, partly due to Swift’s June shows at Wembley, with the figure barely budging at 5.7 per cent — nearly double the level needed to keep inflation sustainably at two per cent.
So, while Taylor may be singing “So long, London” at the end of her tour, her economic impact will linger long after she takes her final bow.