Taylor Swift’s upcoming concerts in Stockholm are expected to be a “real hit” for the city’s economy, according to a new report.

The superstar is due to play three Eras Tour concerts between 17–19 May at Friends Arena (cap. 50,000), marking her only stop in the Nordic countries.

According to calculations by the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce and Friends Arena, Swifties attending the concerts are expected to spend half a billion kroner (€43.6m).

“When the Friends arena is filled with visitors, it also means significant revenue for hotels, restaurants and shops. Taylor Swift’s visit is therefore a real hit for Stockholm’s economy,” says Carl Bergkvist, chief economist at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), in a press release.

“We have calculated what the visitors can spend on accommodation, food, SL [public transport] tickets and additional tourism, perhaps a guided tour of the old town. The concert tickets and trips to Stockholm are not included.”

“Taylor Swift’s visit is a real hit for Stockholm’s economy”

Of the 150,000 fans attending Swift’s Stockholm concerts, almost half will come from abroad, according to the SCC.

Fans from 132 countries, including USA, Finland and Australia, will attend the shows in Sweden’s capital city.

Swift and other A-list stars have also been credited with helping to rejuvenate tourism in Singapore after the country secured a much-debated exclusivity deal with the star.

At the end of last year, Swift’s planet-conquering Eras Tour officially became the first tour in history to surpass $1 billion in revenue.

Weeks later it was announced that the Eras Tour concert film also made history, becoming the highest-grossing concert/documentary film in box office history with more than US$261.6 million earned globally.

The blockbuster tour will resume in May with the European leg, which kicks off at LA Défense Arena in Paris.

In the meantime, Swift’s next album, The Tortured Poets Department, is due out on 19 April.

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The Spanish government has named the cultural sector as one of the ten driving policies of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience plan which will be bolstered by €800 million.

During a meeting which took place yesterday (8 October), and involved the prime minister, the minister of culture and sports and representatives from the live entertainment sector, the government announced that the cultural sector would be a key pillar in the country’s economic recovery plan.

It is the first time the government has officially recognised culture and sports as assets to the Spanish economy.

Also at the meeting, all the participants agreed on the safety of the cultural spaces, where no outbreaks have been detected in recent months.

The government has been working on raising public awareness about “safe” culture and making cultural spaces visible as safe venues, which has been supported by the relevant health bodies.

Subsequently, the ministry of culture and sports has launched a campaign with the slogan #CulturaSegura (safe culture).

“Culture is necessary. Let’s go to the movies, to the theatre, to concerts … They are safe spaces”

Minister of culture and sports, Jose Manuel Rodriguez Uribes, tweeted: “I am very grateful to the minister Salvador Illa Roca and Dr. Simón for the meeting we have held with representatives of live music, performing arts and cinema. Culture is necessary. Let’s go to the movies, to the theatre, to concerts … They are safe spaces.”

Ironically, the news comes at the same time as Catalonia’s freeze on reopening nightlife establishments. Just 24 hours after announcing that venues could reopen – until 3am but without a dance floor – the government of the generalitat has backed down on its decision, due to a recent increase in cases.

Madrid, however, may grant licenses that allow nightlife establishments, which have been closed since the end of August, to temporarily function as restaurants.

This measure could begin to be applied on 15 October and will see venues double as restaurants if they meet the necessary requirements.

The regional vice president and government spokesman, Ignacio Aguado, has totally ruled out the possibility that nightlife venues will open, as was initially proposed in Catalonia.

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The creative industries added £454.5 billion to the UK’s economy in the six-year period from 2010 to 2015, reveal figures released today by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

That £454.5bn figure – calculated by adding together the gross value added (GVA) by the sector in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 (£65.2bn, £69.4.bn, £73bn, £77.9bn, £81.6bn and £87.4bn, respectively) – made up 5.3% of total UK GVA in the same period and represented growth of 34% since 2010.

In 2014, creative-sector companies represented 12% of all Britain’s companies, with 248,800 enterprises, although the vast majority (89%) of them were small and specialised, employing less than five people.

The creative industries grew 34% between 2010 and 2015, by which time they made up 5.3% of total UK gross value added

Of all the sectors represented by the DCMS, the creative industries showed the second fastest growth, behind only the digital sector.

Further creative industries economic estimates will be published this December, says the department.

IQ reported last month that the number of jobs in Britain’s creative industries has increased three times faster than the UK average since 2011.

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