Taylor Swift’s European Tour | Five Things to Remember

(London) American pop star Taylor Swift concludes an extraordinary three-month European tour at Wembley Stadium in London on Tuesday night. Here are five things to remember from the concerts, attended by hundreds of thousands of fans.

“Swiftonomics”

Even before arriving in Europe, Eras had become the first tour in history to sell more than a billion dollars in tickets. But the impact goes far beyond ticket sales alone.

Hotel prices have soared in European cities as fans flock from around the world.

For example, around 120,000 Swifties from 130 countries travelled to Stockholm in May.

Room rates have increased by “around 295%,” the Chamber of Commerce told AFP at the time, estimating that Swifties would spend a total of more than 40 million euros ($60.5 million) in the Swedish capital.

Some economists even feared that the craze would revive inflation in Sweden.

In Madrid, the superstar’s two concerts injected 25 million euros ($37.8 million) into the local economy.

In the UK, Barclays bank predicted in a study called “Swiftonomics” that the tour would boost the economy by nearly £1 billion ($1.77 billion).

Shake it off : when the earth shakes

Taylor Swift fans weren’t the only ones following her concerts closely. European seismologists noted that the ground shook.

In Lisbon in May, concerts triggered seismic activity detected up to six kilometers around the stadium. The strongest activity was recorded during the song Shake it offreaching a magnitude of 0.82 on the Richter scale.

In Edinburgh, according to the British Geological Survey, the tremors were most noticeable during Cruel Summer, Champagne Problems And Ready for It?During the latter, the crowd in the Scottish capital released a power of around 80 kilowatts, the equivalent of some 6,000 car batteries.

An attack foiled

Three concerts planned in Vienna were cancelled in early August after a suicide bombing plot was revealed. “A bloodbath” was avoided according to conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer.

The main suspect, aged 19, had pledged allegiance to the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) and “made a full confession”, according to intelligence.

The day after the shocking news, hundreds of Swifties gathered in several places in Vienna, improvising a concert at the foot of St. Stephen’s Cathedral or exchanging the famous friendship bracelets, as the star’s fans are accustomed to doing.

Knife attack

On July 29, three girls taking part in a Taylor Swift-inspired dance class in Southport, northwest England, were stabbed to death. The attack followed a week of racist and Islamophobic violence in the UK.

“The horror of the attack in Southport overwhelms me and I am in complete shock,” Taylor Swift wrote on Instagram.

According to the magazine Rolling Stonethe pop star met two survivors of the attack at one of her concerts in London. A mother shared photos of the girls backstage with their idol on TikTok.

Her fans raised around £400,000 ($710,000) for the victims, using the slogan “Swifties for Southport”.

“Tay-gating”

Not having a ticket was not enough to demotivate some fans. Many came out in disguise outside the stadiums to exchange wristbands and listen to the concerts remotely, a practice known as “Tay-gating.”

In Madrid, 50,000 people gathered on a hill near the stadium on both nights, according to Taylor Swift herself. Police have received dozens of complaints from local residents criticizing the noise levels coming from the Barnabeu stadium, which has recently undergone major renovations to accommodate concerts, including a retractable pitch.

In London and Amsterdam, however, the authorities have asked fans not to gather outside in the name of the peace and quiet of local residents.