Taylor Swift's Eras Tour set to add over a billion dollar to UK's economy

Taylor Swift's global Eras Tour is expected to contribute nearly £1 billion ($1.3 billion) to the UK economy, as fans splurge money to attend the concerts of the American music star, according to Barclays bank's estimate.

A study entitled 'Swiftonomics' said nearly 1.2 million fans would each spend almost £848 on tickets, travel, accommodation and merchandise to watch the singer and songwriter's performance in the UK over 15 summer dates.
This figure is 12 times higher than the average amount spent by an individual on a typical night out in the countryside, Barclays said.

"When it comes to cultural icons like Taylor Swift -- like we saw with Elvis and Beatlemania in the 50s and 60s -- supporters have such a strong connection to the artist that the desire to spend becomes even more powerful," said Peter Brooks, behavioural scientist at Barclays.

This isn't the first time though that Taylor Swift's concerts are expected to boost economies. Earlier this year, Taylor Swift's concerts in Japan were expected to shore up the economy.

Maria Psyllou, an economist from the University of Birmingham in Britain, who has extensively studied the trickle-down impact of Swift's tours, had earlier estimated that six concerts of Taylor Swift held in Los Angeles contributed a staggering $320 million to the county's GDP.

The immense and far-reaching popularity of Taylor Swift has led Harvard English professor Stephanie Burt to introduce a new course titled 'Taylor Swift and Her World' for the upcoming spring semester. Taylor Swift had last year found a mention in US central bank's Beige Book, a summary of how the economy is doing in different parts of the United States and which is published eight times a year. In the Beige Book, Philadelphia Federal Reserve officials had noted the strong boost to the local tourism sector from Taylor Swift concerts.

Swift is currently touring in Europe. The tour started over a year ago, and she has performed in sold-out arenas in North and South America, as well as Asia.

In the UK, Taylor Swift will have performances at sports arenas located in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Liverpool, and London.

By the end of 2023, the tour achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first to sell over $1 billion worth of tickets. The tour is projected to exceed double the amount by the end of this year when it concludes.

(with AFP inputs)