Beyoncé‘s Renaissance Tour is shaping up to be one of the most lucrative in history. Fueled by Queen B’s incredible back catalogue and a truly stunning stage show, it’s on track to gross around $2 billion by the time it wraps up in September. But these arena-sized events are such a big deal they’re having an unexpected impact on the world economy.
In May, Beyoncé stopped off in Stockholm for two nights, performing to a total of almost 100,000 fans. With tickets to the whole tour unbelievably scarce, many traveled from around the world to attend, which seems to have had an impact on Sweden’s entire economy, which saw a shocking 9.7% rise in inflation for the month.
Danske Bank economist Michael Grahn says Beyoncé may be somewhat responsible for this rise, pointing to a jump in hotel rates around the time of the performances and increased spending across the hospitality sector, as he opined to the BBC.
“I wouldn’t … blame Beyoncé for [the] high inflation print, but her performance and global demand to see her perform in Sweden apparently added a little to it.”
Grahn compared Beyoncé’s impact to the city hosting a major sports tournament, but admits it’s “rare” for a single performer to drive so much economic activity in such a short amount of time.
I was lucky enough to see the Renaissance Tour on its London stop, and it’s just as dazzling as everyone says it is, with Beyoncé incorporating a giant horse, industrial robots, a bouncing armored personnel carrier, leagues of dancers and the biggest disco ball I’ve ever seen – to say nothing of the woman herself performing her heart out and showing off her killer dance moves.
And hey, if the price of that is a teeny bit of economic turmoil, then I’d say it’s worth it.