Swift's Eras Tour expected to give London economy £300m boost

Taylor Swift fans are expected to boost the London economy by £300 million ($381 million) when they descend on the British capital for the US superstar's record-breaking Eras Tour, according to a new report.

The singer-songwriter, 34, who played a three sold-out shows at London's Wembley Stadium from Friday, before she returns to the venue for five nights in August.

London is hosting more Eras Tour shows than any other city in the world, with nearly 640,000 people expected to attend across the eight dates.

To celebrate her arrival in the capital, murals, a special Tube map, a Taylor trail and a series of events have been created to entertain the Swifties.

Wembley Park is hosting two new public artworks including a large mural on the Spanish Steps, which are being temporarily renamed the "Swiftie Steps."

The steps, which connect Wembley Stadium and the OVO Arena Wembley, will feature Auras created by artist Frank Styles which have been compiled digitally from more than 30 separate physical paintings.

Below the steps will be the Ready For It mural painted by Mur Walls & HUMOR which features a portrait with lyrics interwoven across the artwork.

Fans arrive to attend the concert of US singer and songwriter Taylor Swift as part of her 'Eras Tour' at Wembley Stadium, west of London. - AFP

A Taylor trail launching on Friday will celebrate places across the capital that are referenced in her music, with venues displaying vinyl stickers in their windows to welcome fans.

Notable locations on the trail include the West End, Soho, Bond Street, Camden Market, Highgate, Hampstead Heath, Vauxhall, Shoreditch, Hackney, Brixton and Kentish Town.

Fans will be able to access the trail through QR codes at participating venues and on the Visit London website, which has created a guide to the many events taking place across the city including brunches, singalongs and quizzes.

Transport For London (TfL) has also reimagined the Tube map in the singer's honour, with each line named after a different album and drawn in colours to match, while stations will be named after songs.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "The Eras Tour has broken records and created huge excitement so I'm delighted that Taylor Swift has chosen to perform more nights in London than anywhere else in the world.

"Her eight performances will bring nearly 700,000 fans from across the country and beyond to Wembley Stadium, providing a huge boost to our hospitality industry and further proof that London is the greatest city in the world to watch live music."

A fan poses with star sunglasses as Swifties arrive to attend the concert of US singer and songwriter Taylor Swift as part of her 'Eras Tour' at Wembley Stadium, west of London. - AFP

Swift kicked off the UK leg of her mammoth, billion-dollar Eras Tour earlier this month at Murray field Stadium in Edinburgh where she delivered three dazzling shows.

She later took her show on the road to Liverpool, where she played three nights in a row at Anfield Stadium, followed by one date at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

The tour, which takes fans on a journey through the different musical stages of her career, has been a juggernaut.

The 640,000 fans set to attend the Wembley shows are estimated to spend an average of £471 when they come to the capital, according to a report by the Greater London Authority.

The estimated £300 million total boost to London's economy was calculated using data from UK Inbound's Tourism Statistics for 2018,which showed that each domestic and international tourist to the UK generated about £396 to the UK economy that year, with the individual spent figure then adjusted to bring it in line with inflation.

Britain's Prince William posed for a photo with US music star Taylor swift and two of his children, Charlotte and George, at the first night of swift's Eras tour in London on Friday.

A photo posted on Kensington Palace's X social media feed with the caption "Thank you @taylorswift13 for a great evening!" showed William smiling as swift took a selfie with him and the children. William celebrated his 42nd birthday on Friday.

swift also posted a different photo of her with the royals and her partner Travis Kelce with the message: "Happy Bday M8! London shows are off to a splendid start".

Ahead of the first of her eight shows at London's Wembley Stadium, the city published a special version of its distinctive London Underground map to mark the occasion, and the "Changing of the Guard" ceremony at Buckingham Palace featured a military band rendition of one of her songs. - dpa/Reuters