How 'Swiftonomics' have come to Edinburgh, amid unprecedented Taylor Swift linked spending bonanza

She is about to stage Scotland’s biggest and most lucrative stadium concerts.

Edinburgh is preparing to capitalise on the phenomenon of “Swiftonomics” with nearly 220,000 fans expected to attend Taylor Swift’s long-awaited shows in the city over the weekend.

With “Swifties” already queuing up for merchandise outside Murrayfield, the home of Scottish rugby is being transformed for a three-night run of the highest-capacity live music events shows in its history.

American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift performs on stage as part of her Eras Tour. Picture: André Dias Nobre/Getty

Now new research has shown that superstars like Swift, Beyonce and Harry Styles are helping to boost the annual economic impact of the stadium to record levels.

Music and sporting events at Murrayfield are now said to be worth more than £185 million, according to research revealed by Scottish Rugby ahead of Swift's money-spinning shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Almost 800,000 people are now said to attend events at Murrayfield Stadium thanks to the growing number of live concerts which have been secured for the venue.

New research published by Scottish Rugby found that more than 165,000 attendees at major events last year travelled from outside Scotland.

Taylor Swift will bring her Eras Tour to Edinburgh this weekend. Picture: Getty.

The latest findings mean that the overall economic benefit from major events in Edinburgh is now estimated to be more than £631 million.

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is said to be worth around £100 million a year to the economy, with the Fringe recently valued at around double that figure and the city's Hogmanay festival valued at around £48.5 million.

Edinburgh's annual cultural festivals were estimated to have generated more than £407 million in total for the city's economy.

Organisers of the Royal Highland Show, which is due to be held later this month, last year revealed that the event was worth £39.5 million to the economy.

Roddy Smith is chief executive of the city centre business group Essential Edinburgh

Previous research on the economic spin-offs from events at Murrayfield, which was published two years ago, found that a single Six Nations fixture was now worth more than £20 million.

Murrayfield’s history as a live music venue dates back to the 1980s when it played host to David Bowie and U2, while the 1990s brought the likes of Tina Turner, R.E.M, The Rolling Stones, Celine Dion and The Eagles to the stadium.

However Murrayfield was normally only used for one-off concerts before the pandemic, with the Foo Fighters, One Direction and the Spice Girls appearing over the last decade.

The home of Scottish rugby has stepped up competition with the national football stadium, Hampden Park in Glasgow, since the pandemic, with Murrayfield said to be increasingly attractive due to public transport connections like the tram, which was expanded to the city’s waterfront last year, and its biggest capacity.

Promoters last year declared that Harry Styles had become the highest-selling artist for a single gig after attracting 65,000 to one of his two shows last year.

However the city council agreed to increase the capacity of Swift’s three shows to 72,990 earlier this year.

Her 15 dates across the UK are predicted to generate almost £1 billion for the economy, with almost 1.2m fans expected to contribute to the Swiftonomics spin-offs.

Experts at Barclays have predicted they will spend an average of £848 on tickets, travel, accommodation and outfits.

Estimates of the potential spin-off for Edinburgh from the three concerts have ranged between £75m and £100m.

Roddy Smith, chief executive of city centre business group Essential Edinburgh, said: “The economic impact for Edinburgh of Taylor Swift will be significant.

"With over 200,00 people attending the concerts there will be visitors from all over Scotland, the UK and the wider world. These visitors will all spend money in hotels, restaurants and our retailers supporting our economy and the local supply chain.

“With the concerts at Murrayfield last year we saw the hugely positive impact on the economy and this year will be equally as positive if not more so.

"It is a great boost to have this activity in June ahead of the key summer period.

“Edinburgh needs to continue to grow its offering for residents and visitors, and these large scale concerts are a perfect way to do that.

"It also reflects the high quality of provision we have in the city that can sustain events of this size and attract events on this scale.”

Liz Mcareavey, chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: “Bloomberg has estimated that Taylor Swift’s US tour generated a massive $4.3bn for the US economy.

“The Edinburgh nights will be a massive event for the city. Whether cultural or business, our events sector is a big contributor to our regional economy and supports thousands of jobs.

"We need policy-makers to help build on our successful sectors to help them grow sustainably.”

Swift’s concerts are among the biggest ever events handled by the city council, with special arrangements being put in place to reflect the star’s fanbase. The gender split of the audience is expected to be 20 per cent male and 80 per cent female, with the vast majority of fans aged between 15 and 25.

The council has worked with more than 50 local businesses to create special offers and suggested itineraries for what to do when they are in the city.

Fiona Hunter, destination marketing manager at the city’s Forever Edinburgh campaign team, said: “Hosting three concerts from the biggest pop star in the world is a huge event in Edinburgh, so we wanted to ensure local businesses in the city were feeling the benefits of that.

“We created the Taylored Taste Trail to help spread the impact across the city and showcase what Edinburgh has to offer, and have had a fantastic response.”

Val Walker, the council’s culture convener, said: “Our goal is to cultivate a positive fan experience, fostering lasting advocacy for Edinburgh among our visitors while ensuring a positive impact on residents. It’s a great opportunity to support Edinburgh businesses and the local economy.

“I’m delighted to see that events and activity at Murrayfield now represent over £185m in economic impact. These represent a significant contribution to our city’s economy and support many jobs in the city.

“Whilst we’re proud to be attracting the biggest and best events to Edinburgh and we work closely with organisers to ensure these events are as safe and well managed as possible, this inevitably puts increased pressure on our services.

“One of the ways we’re trying to remedy this is through the introduction of a visitor levy and I was pleased to see the bill passing last week at the Scottish Parliament.

“We’ll always look to strike the balance between the needs of our residents alongside our visitors.”