Have you tried to get a seat in The Black Dog pub in Vauxhall recently? After providing the title for a track on the “Anthology” edition of Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, it’s seen overwhelming footfall from fans.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is a statistician’s fever dream. The US leg has already been hailed as the first billion-dollar tour, where Swift sold 4.3 million tickets, with an average price of $238 (£190). Each show (typically to audiences of 72,000 people) grossed around $17m (£13.5m). Then add in $200m (£160m) in merchandise.
Taylor Swift creates a new financial centre of gravity in every city she deigns to visit and so the places she’s due to play in the UK from June must be as excited as the Swifties.
As well as looking at the economic impact of the Eras Tour, we bring our annual festival guide this week. The Association of Independent Festivals found that “a 5,000 capacity festival is worth £1.1m to the local area, while a 110,000 capacity festival can be worth over £27m”. This pales in comparison with Glastonbury which “generates over £100m into the economy of South West England each time it takes place”.
The economic impact of festivals tends to lift the local economies in rural areas, that’s part of the reason why they are so vital. The other is that it’s a great excuse to have a good time.
The other major music event taking place this week is, of course, Eurovision and we also have a fascinating piece about how the history of the continent shaped and continues to reshape international politics.