Edinburgh counts the economic boost as the Taylor Swift show moves on

Edinburgh has given Taylor Swift and hundreds of thousands of fans flocking to the capital from across the world for her three sell-out gigs a "truly spectacular welcome", city council leader Cammy Day said.

Mr Day said they had created an atmosphere "of fun and celebration" and are expected to have helped boost Edinburgh’s economy by tens of millions of pounds.

The last of the three concerts at the Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium was due to increase the total attendance to nearly 220,000 over the weekend.

Taylor Swift performing on Friday at the first of her three Murrayfield gigs. (Photo by Lisa Ferguson/The Scotsman) | LISA FERGUSON

Mr Day said: “Edinburgh truly has given Taylor Swift and her hundreds of thousands of fans visiting the capital from across the globe this weekend a spectacular welcome.

“From everything I have seen so far, the atmosphere across the city has been one of fun and celebration .

“The event is expected to have injected tens of millions of pounds into our city’s economy.

“Whilst we’re rightly proud to attract the biggest and best events such as these concerts to the capital, I’m also conscious of the impact on our residents.

A total of nearly 220,000 fans are expected to have attended the three concerts at Murrayfield. (Photo by Lisa Ferguson/The Scotsman) | LISA FERGUSON

“So I’d like to thank them, as well as our partners including Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams and our staff, for extending such a warm welcome to everyone who attended the concerts this weekend.

“Our staff have been working round the clock making sure the area in and around the stadium is clean.

“Our marshals have been on hand to help guide Swifties to their destination and make sure everyone is safe and well.

“With our world famous summer of festivals just around the corner, these highly-successful concerts mark a fantastic start to an incredible summer of culture in the capital.”

Edinburgh Trams said Swifties alighting and boarding at its Murrayfield tram stop beside the stadium had made the weekend the line’s busiest yet.

Managing director Lea Harrison said: “Since the middle of last week, we have recorded over 250,000 trips, and when all the numbers have been totalled, this should give us both the highest daily and most impressive weekend figures in our ten-year history.”

ScotRail mounted one of its biggest operations for years to transport fans to the concerts from across the country, many to and from Haymarket Station in Edinburgh.

Customer operations director Phil Campbell said: “It has been fantastic for everyone at ScotRail to be able to play a part in helping tens of thousands of fans see Taylor Swift at Murrayfield.

“This has been one of the biggest events for the country in recent years and we have done everything possible to make traveling to and from the venue a positive experience.

“There has been a party atmosphere at stations and on our trains, and it has been amazing to see our staff and customers interacting and enjoying the occasion.”

Roddy Smith, director and chief executive of marketing body Essential Edinburgh, said: "The economic impact for Edinburgh of Taylor Swift will be significant.

“With over 200,000 people attending the concerts there will be visitors from all over Scotland, the UK and the wider world.  These visitors will all spend money in hotels, restaurants and our retailers supporting our economy and the local supply chain.

"It is a great boost to have this activity in June ahead of the key summer period.

"Edinburgh needs to continue to grow its offering for residents and visitors, and these large-scale concerts are a perfect way to do that.  It also reflects the high quality of provision we have in the city that can attract and sustain events on this scale."

Neil Ellis, chair of the Edinburgh Hotels Association, said: “Major events like Taylor Swift this weekend, and Harry Styles and Beyonce last year, are extremely important to Edinburgh’s economy, not only for hotels and other accommodation providers, but for our bars, restaurants, venues, attractions, retail and transport providers.

“For Edinburgh to be seen as a must-perform destination by global artists only goes to show that we have excellent facilities and infrastructure, not only for the performers and crew but for the thousands of fans visiting from afar.”

LNER, the main London-Edinburgh train operator, said the influx of fans had triggered one of its busier weekend, which included the naming its 10am service from King’s Cross to Waverley on Friday - once the Flying Scotsman departure time - as the “Flying Swiftie”.

A spokesperson said “Services to Edinburgh have been very busy this weekend with fans travelling to see Taylor Swift at Murrayfield.

“More than 14,000 people have travelled with us to Scotland on our daytime services since Friday and we hope they’ve all had a ‘Gorgeous’ time and their ‘Wildest Dreams’ came true.”