London: Taylor Swift’s Eras tour made a grand debut in London with a special Tube map redesign in her honor on Friday, potentially bringing a windfall of 300 million pounds ($379 million) to the British capital.
Scheduled to perform eight shows at London’s Wembley Stadium, starting Friday, Taylor Swift is expected to attract nearly 700,000 fans in total, according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
Apart from ticket and travel expenses, her fans, known as ‘Swifties’, also invest in elaborate outfits and accessories inspired by various musical eras from the 34-year-old singer’s discography.
Swift’s billion-dollar tour has been a boon to local economies since its start in the United States last year. However, economists generally question whether concert tours or major sporting events truly contribute significantly to a country’s economy.
To mark the occasion, Transport for London released a special version of its iconic London Underground map. Dubbed “Taylor’s Version” of the map, in reference to her decision to re-record some of her work after losing control of the master recordings, it replaces the names of train stops with her song titles.
For example, ‘Westminster’ has been renamed ‘Gorgeous’ and ‘Piccadilly Circus’ is now ‘Wildest Dreams’.
Taylor Swift has a history with London, having spent time in the city while dating British actor Joe Alwyn. She has even referenced popular London spots in her music.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan shared a photo of himself outside Wembley Stadium, standing next to a mural of Swift’s face, capturing her iconic blue eyes and signature red lips.
Even the royal family joined in, posting a video on social media of the traditional ‘Changing of the Guard’ ceremony at Buckingham Palace accompanied by one of Swift’s songs, captioned: “Can’t stop, won’t stop groovin’”.
According to Khan’s office, Swift’s concerts are expected to generate 300 million pounds for London’s economy, based on average tourist spending. This estimate assumes that almost none of the concert-goers are local residents.
However, it’s important to note that this total likely exaggerates the actual economic impact of Swift’s concerts on Britain’s overall economy, as most fans would likely have spent their money on other goods and services, if not during this event, then at another time.
