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Swift is due to perform eight shows at London's Wembley stadium,
with the first scheduled for Friday, attracting nearly 700,000
fans in total, the mayor's office said in a statement.
Aside from spending on tickets and travel, her fans, known as 'Swifties,'
splash out on glittery outfits and accessories to depict
different musical eras of the 34-year-old's discography.
Swift's billion-dollar tour has helped local economies since its
U.S. start last year, although economists are generally
skeptical that concert tours or big sporting events give more
than a small boost to a country's economy.
Transport for London published a special version of its
distinctive London Underground map to mark the occasion.
"Taylor’s Version" of the map, a nod to her decision re-record
some of her work after losing control of the master recordings,
replaced names of train stops with her song titles, with
"Westminster" renamed "Gorgeous" and "Piccadilly Circus"
becoming "Wildest Dreams".
The star herself has spent time in the city in the past when she
was dating British actor Joe Alwyn, even namechecking popular
London spots in her music.
London's mayor Sadiq Khan posted a picture of himself on X,
standing outside Wembley stadium revealing a mural of Swift's
face capturing the singer's blue eyes and signature red lips.
The royal family even got in on the act, releasing a video on
social media of the traditional 'Changing of the Guard' ceremony
at Buckingham Palace playing one of her songs with the caption:
"Can't stop, won't stop groovin'".
Khan's office said Swift's concerts would generate 300 million
pounds for London's economy - an estimate based on average
tourist spending, and one which assumed almost none of the
concert-goers were from the capital.
However, this total overstates the boost that Swift's concerts
provide to Britain's overall economy, as most fans would have
spent the money on other goods and services - if not this month,
then sooner or later.
($1 = 0.7909 pounds)
(Reporting by Muvija M and David Milliken; editing by William
James and Alexander Smith)
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