Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ tour shows in Sweden added to country’s shock inflation

Beyoncé’s opening tour shows are believed to have contributed to Sweden’s shock inflation in May.

The opening of the pop star’s Renaissance world tour in Stockholm caused such a scramble for hotels and restaurant meals that consumer behaviour has registered in the country’s economic statistics: a higher-than-expected inflation of 9.7 per cent.

Economists have said that while Beyoncé‘s tour can’t solely be blamed for the shock inflation, it had an impact.

Michael Grahn, economist at Danske Bank, told the BBC that he thought the tour contributed to the boost in hotel rates. She may also have been the force behind the unexpectedly strong uptick in recreation and culture prices, he said.

“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,” he wrote in an email to the BBC.

In an email to the Washington Post last month, Visit Stockholm described the boom in tourism to the city as the “Beyoncé effect” .

Inflation in Sweden peaked at 12.3 per cent in December. May’s 9.7 per cent rate was down from 10.5 per cent in April, according to official figures. Financial markets had expected around 9.4 per cent.

Beyoncé’s opening tour shows in Stockholm on 10 May and 11 May saw the star perform to a crowd of 46,000 each night.

Rolling Stone UK’s Darren Styles went along to one of the singer’s London dates last month, writing in a five-star review that she delivered a “34-track show of scale and spectacle that thrills”.

“The Renaissance show is escapism, indulgence and sensory overload – from a clamshell bed, over-size glitterballs and a Ballroom masterclass Billy Porter would be proud to call home – and the extent of immersion is eclipsed only by a higher level of excellence to which many may aspire, but few can achieve.”