Taylor Swift could boost Europe’s economy more than the US economy

The American pop icon filled a void the world didn’t know existed with his soulful music. Her songs are impactful, but Swift is also financially gifted.

Her Elas Tour, which began last year in the wake of the global pandemic, became the highest-grossing tour in history. Every city she performed in saw an increase in business, including retail, food and beverage, and hotel room sales.

Swift’s influence has been huge, with Nomura estimating that the Elas Tour generated $5 billion in consumer spending in the U.S. in just six months.

The singer is currently exercising her financial influence in Europe ahead of this brutal summer. And her experts think her benefits may even outweigh the U.S. leg of her tour.

What makes Europe different for Swift?

Swift has performed over 50 shows in countries including the UK, Switzerland and Poland.

Although each country’s timing and macroeconomic environment is different compared to the United States, Europe as a whole generally has some advantages.

“[Europe has] Compared to the United States, public transportation is more extensive, making it easier to access venues from a wider area. So we think the impact is likely to extend beyond just a 2.5-mile radius,” said Natalia Lekmanova, chief European economist at the Mastercard Institute of Economic Research. luck.

This means people can bet on an efficient transportation system to get them where they want to go, so they don’t necessarily have to be near the concert venue before attending. It also helps that Swift’s tour dates are concentrated in the summer, when people are already looking to travel.

If that’s not reason enough, Swift will also be performing new songs from her double album released last month at her upcoming show. This bodes well for the pop star’s American fans, many of whom flock to Paris in greater numbers than the Olympics to watch Swift perform. Some people travel to different parts of Europe to catch a glimpse of the person of their dreams.

New York-based Caroline Babinski, 26, is flying to Zurich to attend Swift’s concert in July. She saw two shows on the Elas tour in America, but that didn’t stop her from going to the next show. But this time it will take place in Europe.

“Reservations were much easier in Zurich. When I was trying to go to the American show, I couldn’t really get advance tickets,” Babinski said. luckadding that the tickets were also much cheaper compared to the show they went to in Philadelphia.

Babinski said she spent about $1,500 on the trip to Zurich, where she plans to stay and attend a Swift concert with her sister.

“I think it’s worth it,” she said. “The way she puts on the show right now is just one of a kind.”

“So will it last forever or will it go up in flames?”

Lekmanova cited a strong dollar and an increasing tendency for people to spend money on experiences rather than material goods as other factors driving American Swifties to Europe.

Economies around the world have had a tough few years dealing with interest rates. It took a lot of effort, but inflation is finally starting to calm down in most major countries, even if it’s not as low as central banks would like.

However, sudden demand for hotel rooms and food and beverage services for large concerts could temporarily accelerate inflation. It happened in Sweden last July during the “Beyoncé blip,” when core inflation slowed more than expected during a month when Beyoncé was performing on her Renaissance tour in Stockholm.

Will that be a concern in Europe with Swift’s Elas tour? That’s unlikely, Lekmanova said.

“It might spike that day, but then it plummets. So, when it comes to that, [the] “I don’t really admire anything about influencing inflation trends in Europe,” she said.

Although Swift’s concert will be fleeting, it will have a bigger impact in smaller cities than in larger cities, Nomura analysts wrote in a March note. That’s because megacities like London and Paris can absorb large numbers of additional visitors in a way that Liverpool, for example, can’t.

In the UK alone, Barclays estimates that concert ticket holders spend 12 times more than the average Brit on a night out, boosting the economy by £1 billion ($1.27 billion). Swifties feed off their mania by splurging on concert-themed movies and dressing up in different “eras” of artists.

George Moran, European economist at Nomura, said a more localized impact was also being seen in Ireland, where Swift is scheduled to perform three times in June. luck.

Still, he cautions that there is a risk of overestimating the economic impact.

“The layout of American cities and their large stadiums could be very different than the international cities Taylor Swift visits in 2024,” Moran said, adding that as seen from Beyoncé’s blip in Sweden, the impact is more sector-based, he added. hospitality sector) rather than having a noticeable impact at the macroeconomic level.

“Even if the impact is not felt in a small economy like Sweden, it is very unlikely to have a significant impact on the larger economy,” he said.

In any case, the red carpet for Swift and her series of performances is already rolling out in Europe until August.

Swift already seems to be enjoying summer as fans flock to various venues to watch her live shows with bated breath.

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