Biggest since the Beatles: Edinburgh prepares for Swift-mania

Plus: Wet weather "obliterates" records and call for dog ban in cemeteries

The biggest pop tour in history hits the Capital

She’s been credited with generating up to £76m for the Edinburgh economy, looks set to break the attendance record for a stadium concert in Scotland, and has even been blamed for homeless people being moved out of the Capital. It can only mean one thing… Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras tour is about to arrive in the city.

For many people there will be only one cultural event that matters in Edinburgh this weekend - Leith Festival, of course - but for more than 200,000 Taylor Swift fans with tickets, and anyone venturing anywhere near Murrayfield or the city centre, the Eras tour buzz and crowds will be impossible to ignore.

The world’s biggest pop star plays three sell-out concerts at Murrayfield on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night - the first UK dates on the tour- in possibly the most hyped concerts in the Capital since the Beatles played the ABC on Lothian Road.

Traffic Scotland are warning of heavy traffic on the main roads to and from Edinburgh, including the M8 and A90, as well as road closures around Murrayfield, and are urging people to use public transport where possible.

For those of you who are not up to speed with the cultural phenomena that is about to hit us, here is our whistle stop Taylor Swift guide.

Swiftonomics: That’s the term that’s been coined for measuring the economic impact of the Eras Tour which has been estimated, by Bloomberg Economics, to have contributed $4.3bn (roughly £3.4bn) to the GDP of the United States. By the end of 2023, it had had already become the first tour in history to gross more than $1bn, and it is set to continue until December. Even Air New Zealand reported a “Swift surge”, despite the tour not visiting the country, as Swifties rushed to book flights to Australia.

Friendship bracelets: When the Eras tour - which chronicles Swift’s entire career - was first announced in 2022, some fans suggested making friendship bracelets to swap at the concerts, sparking a worldwide craze. St James Quarter has set up a free friendship bracelet making station (you need to book sessions on their website), as well as hosting make up artist sessions with tips on how to copy Taylor’s signature red lip gloss, and a live singer in the shopping centre performing cover version of her hits.

Stadium record: Swift is about to go one better than her ex Harry Styles - who set a Scottish stadium concert record when he performed in front of just under 70,000 fans at Murrayfield last summer - as the city council granted permission to raise the stadium capacity to 72,990.

Swiftie Swirls: In the run up to the concerts, you can buy Taylor Swift cocktails, mocktails, afternoon teas and coffee (Taylor’s favourite, caramel latte) in venues around the city. Equi’s Ice Cream has even created a new flavour, Swiftie Swirl, in her honour, consisting of bubblegum, white chocolate and a glitter mist. You can get it at various venues including Sofi Gelato in the Grassmarket and Loulous on South Queensferry High Street.

College class: Glasgow Clyde College has even run a Taylor Swift ‘masterclass’ to get mums and dads up to speed so they don’t miss any iconic moments in the highly crafted shows’. The class covered when to shout ‘Taylor you’ll be Fine’ during the song Anti-Hero and knowing to raise your hands in a heart shape during Fearless, as well as covering her back catalogue, including albums Fearless and Folklore, and her backstory (rivalry with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, famous exes).

Homeless moved out: The city council was been forced to put people newly declared homeless in taxis to places as far afield as Newcastle in order to find them accommodation due to hotels being sold out across the city. It’s an appalling state of affairs, but we can hardly blame Taylor for the shortage of decent affordable homes in Edinburgh.

YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING

WET WET WET: In another sign of our increasing extreme weather, Edinburgh had its wettest May, and wettest Spring, on record. The monthly total rainfall of 166mm was three and a half times the May average. That didn’t just beat the previous record, it obliterated it, in the words of the BBC’s lead weather presenter Simon King. The opening night of the Bathgate Gala Day shows in West Lothian was among the casualties last week after heavy rain turned the Meadow Park grounds into a mudbath.

CEMETERY DOG BAN: A call for dogs to be banned from cemeteries made by the father of Xander Irvine, who was killed after being hit by the driver of a car on Morningside Road in 2020, is to be raised with government ministers. Paul Irvine raised a petition after watching dogs destroy items left by mourners in Morningside Cemetery where Xander is buried. The Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee has agreed to write to Cosla, which represents Scotland’s local authorities, Police Scotland the Scottish Government to raise the issue.

EAST LOTHIAN TO THE WORLD? Douglas Alexander, Labour’s General Election candidate in East Lothian, is widely expected to be appointed to a senior role in government, should he and his party prevail at the polls, but could that be as Foreign Secretary? Rumours are rife in Westminster that this is Sir Keir’s plan, according to a report in The Times, with the paper reporting allies of the current Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy are “irked by the rumours”. The former Shadow Foreign Secretary is one of only a handful of Labour candidates with Cabinet experience, having served as Transport Secretary and Scotland Secretary under Tony Blair.

LEZ LAUNCH: Edinburgh’s new Low Emission Zone launched on Saturday with fines now being imposed for non-compliant vehicles driving into the city centre charging zone. You can read about the background and check whether your vehicle is complaint here.

HOUSING CRISIS IN WEST: West Lothian Council has become the latest local authority to declare a housing emergency in the face of surging homelessness. Councillors agreed to declare an emergency after they heard the housing department has around 1,400 homeless cases, an average of 350 new applications each month and the waiting list is almost 12,000. 

POETS POST: The Friends of Easter Craiglockhart Hill are celebrating a special addition to the beauty spot with a new poem by Alexander McCall Smith which walkers can stop to enjoy on their wanders.

ANSWER TO CASE: Edinburgh Airport Chief Executive Gordon Dewar has said that work is being carried out to ensure there is no repeat of problems on the scale of last year’s unclaimed and delayed baggage issues. While misplaced luggage has become the '“new norm” in international travel, he said, more staff and a new tracking system have been put into place, and the firms responsible for baggage handling at the airport has also put dedicated teams in place.

DOGS ATTACKED: A 37-year-old man is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today after an armed gang chased a man into a shop and slashed his two Alsatian dogs with knives and beat them with metal bars. One of the dogs was killed in the attack at the Premier store in Calder Park at around 4.30pm on Friday while the other was treated for serious injuries.

AIRPORT AD BAN: Edinburgh Airport is among a wide range of businesses who will be banned from advertising on council-owned property, including bus shelters and bill boards, as part of a crackdown on promotion of the fossil fuel industry. SUVs, cruise holidays and airlines will also be covered by the move which council officials said could result in a drop in revenue of up to £200,000 a year.

NEW ROUTE: You may not see it advertised on council sites, but British Airways is now flying twice-weekly from Edinburgh to San Sebastian in northern Spain’s Basque country. Through its BA Cityflyer subsidiary, the airline is offering flights to the city on Tuesdays and Saturdays until the end of July.

THE BUSINESS

Minister in mood for cruise control

Cruise ship passengers and motorhome owners could be next to pay extra taxes after the Scottish Parliament approved plans for a Visitor Levy on overnight accommodation, which is expected to be introduced first in the Capital, in 2026.

As reported last week in the Inquirer, local councils have been lobbying for cruise ship and other charges to be introduced, and during the debate on the new legislation Employment and Investment Minister Tom Arthur said he was open to the idea, with a consultation planned on a cruise ship levy later in the year. More than 90 cruise ships will visit Edinburgh this summer.

Robert Mason, Head of Cruise, Forth Ports Limited, stressed the importance of the sector: “An estimated 1 million passengers will visit Scotland, contributing over £130 million to the economy, spending an average of £134.60 per person. Some 91 per cent of passengers repeat a cruise, and 60 per cent return to the destination by other means…”

He added that the Capital was viewed as a key destination in the sector and said the benefits spilled far beyond the city: “For over ten years the fantastic, award winning CruiseForth Partnership Project, supported by Forth Ports, local authorities, business networks and transport operators, has been successfully assisting businesses and communities across East Central Scotland to promote their individual offers to cruise guests, resulting in increasing numbers of visits to towns such as Linlithgow, Dunfermline and St Andrews.”

NEW POLL SHOWS SWING TO LABOUR: Businesses are backing the Labour Party in increasing numbers, according to a new poll, opening up a record lead among industry leaders. A survey by Savanta of 1000 business leaders – from both large and small companies – reported a 17 point gap between the two main parties, as 49 per cent see Labour as 'best for business in the UK' compared to 32 per cent who chose the Tories, the biggest gap the polling firm has ever recorded.

MALMAISON SOLD: The Malmaison hotel on St Andrews Square in Edinburgh has been acquired for around £25m by a German investment manager. IPE Real Assets reported that the deal was done on behalf of one of Patrizia's UK institutional clients.

LEGAL GROWTH: Edinburgh-based law firm Balfour + Mansor has further expanded its business interests in the north east after it announced a further expansion with its acquisition of estate agents and solicitors Alastair Hart & Co. The firm has been doing business in the north east for around 20 years. AH&Co has offices in Aberdeen and Portlethen.

BANK ON CHANGE: Lloyds Banking Group, parent of Bank of Scotland, is set to refurbish its Scottish headquarters at Port Hamilton in Edinburgh, including a full building redesign to create a more flexible space better suited to changing work patterns by focusing on collaboration and creativity. The redesign will include a café, new fitness centre and 'creative rooms'. Port Hamilton will also be become significantly more energy efficient. The refurbishment is expected to be completed by 2027.

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT

LEITH FESTIVAL: Kicking off on Saturday with the famous Gala Day on Leith Links and closing with the pipes and drums - and a suitably cosmopolitan musical line up - of the Leith Tattoo on Sunday, 16 June, other Leith Festival highlights include a night of stand-up staged by the Leith Comedy Festival and the return of the Thermos Museum comedy show.  

DOUBLE BILL: There’s a chance to catch two of the finest singer-songwriters of their generation at the Usher Hall on Tuesday, 11 June, when Beth Gibbons, the enigmatic voice of Portishead, headlines with support from Bill Ryder-Jones, one of the founders of The Coral.

GREECE IS THE WORD: Sally Reid reprises her acclaimed performance of Shirley Valentine at the Lyceum from Wednesday, 12 June, until 29 June, in the Pitlochry Festival Theatre production of Willy Russell’s tale of sun, sex and sangria.

QUICK BITES

HOTPOT OPENING: Yang Guo Fu Malatang, a chain of Chinese-hotpot restaurants with more than 6,000 branches across Asia, Australia and North America, opened their first Scottish venture on the site of the former Rigatonis restaurant on South Clerk Street, Newington over the weekend.

INTERACTIVE SHORTBREAD: Edinburgh Airport is home to the world’s first “interactive shortbread machine” after Walker’s announced the installation last month after agreeing a partnership with World Duty Free and global travel experience company Avolta. The machine encourages visitors to enjoy a complimentary shortbread finger as it recommends product to purchase in the World Duty Free store. Crumbs, what next?

PUB OPPORTUNITY: The Kilderkin pub on the Canongate is to undergo refurbishment – and will also be renamed The Abbey. Once known as Jenny Ha’s, owners Star Pubs (part of Heinekin), is looking for a new operator for the strategically placed bar close to the Scottish Parliament at the foot of the Royal Mile.