Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour wrapped up its European leg in London this week, marking the close of a frenetic sweep across the continent that had seen the American superstar enchant fans in many countries.
Kicking off in May at Paris’s La Defense Arena, Swift made sure to let the European fans know just how much she’s loving them back, speaking of the experience as though it were a dream come true. “I wish I could have toured Europe more. This is a dream crowd,” the 34-year-old singer told her Paris audience.
The “Eras” tour has been one of those that struck a ravishing effect all across Europe throughout the past four months—not just musically, but economically too. Dubbed “Swiftonomics,” the tour sent hotel prices through the roof as fans from all over converged.
For example, in Stockholm, 120,000 “Swifties” from 130 countries were estimated to inject $46 million into the local economy. A similar boost was reported in Madrid, where two concerts added an estimated 25 million euros to the city’s economy. Indeed, this also benefited the economy of the UK with almost £1 billion of economic activity, Barclays projected, after the performances of Swift.
The tour also literally shook things up. Seismologists detected shaking in several cities, due to all the energy created by crowds. On the Lisbon dates, seismic activity was detected six kilometers away—with “Shake It Off” causing the highest amplitude of tremors. In Edinburgh, the song “Ready for It?” produced shaking of an intensity almost the equivalent of the power of 6,000 car batteries.
The tour wasn’t quite trouble-free, though. For instance, three concerts were called off in Vienna after authorities foiled an attack that an ISIS sympathizer had been planning against one of the concerts. In other news, a Taylor Swift-themed dance class ended tragically in Southport, England, with three girls dead. Taylor Swift expressed her shock and sorrow over the accident, and so-called “Swifties” came out in droves to raise nearly £400,000 for the victims.
But despite those dark moments, the spirit of the tour remained strong, with fans “Tay-gating” outside stadiums when they couldn’t secure tickets. In Madrid, Swift acknowledged an estimated 50,000 fans who massed on a nearby hillside to listen to her performance.
