OMG!!! Taylor Swift’s UK Eras tour ‘could generate close to £1bn’ for economy

The hugely anticipated UK leg of Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras tour could generate close to a £1bn boost for the economy, it has been predicted.

The economic effect of the pop titan’s globe-trotting series of shows, dubbed “Swiftonomics”, has been widely documented, with her “Midas touch” impacting everything from hospitality to the NFL during her North American run.

In what analysts have dubbed the first billion-dollar tour, Swift sold approximately 4.3 million tickets with an average price of $238 (£190) and a further $1,300 in ancillary local spending on travel, hotels, food and shopping.

Live music business publication Pollstar reported last year that each show grossed around $17m (£13.5m), with $200m on top for merchandise.

Meanwhile, a report by the Economic Impact Research Laboratory said that Swift’s four Tokyo shows in February this year, where she played to 220,000 fans, added ¥34.1bn (£183m) to the Japanese economy.

Swifties are now preparing to flock to cities around the UK and Ireland from June, when she will perform career-spanning sets incorporating songs from albums such as Speak Now, Fearless, Folklore, and her latest record, The Tortured Poets Society.

Data released by Barclays predicts that these shows will provide a £997m uplift for the UK, with spending by Swift ticket-holders more than 12 times higher than the average cost of a UK night out (£67).

After splashing out on tickets (around £206 but exceeding £400 for those who purchased VIP ticket packages) fans are estimated to spend an average of £121 on accommodation, £111 on travel and £56 on new outfits for the event, plus £56 on a pre-concert meal and £79 on official merchandise.

Dr Peter Brooks, Chief Behavioural Scientist at Barclays, said in a statement: “Whoever came up with the phrase ‘money can’t buy happiness’ clearly wasn’t a Swiftie. There’s growing evidence that spending on experiences boosts happiness and well-being more so than purchasing physical items, especially if that experience is shared with friends and loved ones.

“When it comes to cultural icons like Taylor Swift – like we saw with Elvis and Beatlemania in the Fifties and Sixties – supporters have such a strong connection to the artist and to the rest of the fandom that the desire to spend becomes even more powerful.”