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Swifties Boost August Ridership As Visitors From Around The World Flock To LondonTransport for London (TfL) welcomed visitors from around the world this August, as people flocked to public transport for unmissable events in the capital, including Taylor Swift’s final five nights at Wembley Stadium. There were more than 441,000 recorded entries and exits at Wembley Park Tube station across Thursday 15 August, Friday 16 August and Saturday 17 August, as fans travelled from around the world to see the latest performances in Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium. There were 146,293 on Thursday 15 August, 153,727 on Friday 16 August, and 141,552 on Saturday 17 August, with hundreds of thousands more expected to have passed through the station for the final two nights on Monday 19 August and Tuesday 20 August*. During the first three dates of her tour in June, Wembley Park Tube station broke more than 150,000 entries and exits in a day for the first time since 2019, with 167,237 entries and exits on the Friday 21 June and 153,761 on Saturday 22 June. On Sunday 23 June there were 137,059. Taylor Swift’s record-breaking The Eras Tour is estimated to have boosted the capital’s economy by £300m**. Ahead of her first performance in London, TfL launched a Swift-themed Tube map with lines representing albums and songs for stations. London (Taylor’s version) has been on display at Wembley Park Tube station to create photo opportunities for fans who attended the concerts and will remain in place for the next few weeks. There have been a huge range of special events and celebrations to mark the performances. Shoreditch, one of Taylor Swift’s favourite places according to London Boy, is now home to a new fan mural of the artist. The mural design, which features Taylor and some of London’s most iconic landmarks, was created by @kateclaxtondesigns and brought to life by Global Street Art and VisitLondon.com. Visitors to London can see more from Global Street Art in September as London Mural Festival takes over the capital. This follows the unveiling of two public artworks at Wembley Park Tube station, including a giant mural on the Spanish Steps, which are being temporarily renamed the ‘Swiftie Steps’. Now Taylor Swift has said So Long London, the capital will continue singing Thank you for the Music at the sell-out ABBA Voyage concert four days a week, which has been extended until May 2025. The spectacular virtual show has seen entries and exits at Pudding Mill Lane DLR station soar since the start of the show in late May 2022. The station continues to see higher entries and exits compared to before the pandemic, with June 2024 seeing more than 162,000 entries and exits across the month. Stratford station also saw its two busiest days so far this year in June as Foo Fighters played at nearby London Stadium on 20 and 22 June, with 225,785 and 229,952 entries and exits respectively. London has had a fantastic summer of international and homegrown music performing, including Green Day and Bruce Springsteen at Wembley Stadium, Burna Boy at the London Stadium, Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, J Hus and Doja Cat at Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park, Kylie, SZA and Stray Kids at BST Hyde Park. The TfL network has also been further boosted with the return of Premier League football, which saw four top-flight matches taking place in London over the weekend helping the Tube see a total of 6,043,345 entries and exits across the network on Saturday, an increase of eight per cent on last year, and 4,385,991 on Sunday, an increase of nine per cent on last year. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “It’s a huge honour that Taylor Swift chose to perform more nights of her record-breaking The Eras Tour in London than any other city. Her eight concerts at Wembley Stadium have seen nearly 700,000 ‘Swifties’ travel from all corners of the world to be here, boosting our economy and proving that London is truly the music capital of the world. I’d also like to thank the police and security staff in London for all their work in making sure the events went ahead safely. “Our spectacular summer of music and sport has seen people make the most of our fantastic transport network, and there is lots more for everyone to enjoy in the coming months as we continue to build a better London for everyone.” Emma Strain, TfL’s Customer Director, said: “London is always open to everyone and whether you enjoyed attending The Eras Tour, or are gearing up for another big gig or festival this summer, we’re here to welcome you all to our great city. With parks across London hosting an incredible line-up of festivals and live music, all just a short ride away on public transport, there’s no better time to explore what the city has to offer.” Laura Citron OBE, CEO at VisitLondon.com, said: “Music is a huge tourism driver for London and this summer has been absolutely massive. Taylor Swift’s record-breaking London shows have seen hotel searches up as much as four times higher than 2023 as Swifties entered the capital. Beyond London’s music scene, there’s a fantastic array of festivals, parades, and lush parks for visitors to enjoy these next few weeks.” London has proved a popular destination for gigs and concerts as recent research by Visit London.com, the business and destination agency for London, revealed that more people would travel to London for a music event than to other major world cities including Paris and Los Angeles. Figures from TfL show that entries and exits have spiked at the stations closest to venues during recent major gigs and concerts. Londoners can enjoy plenty of free concerts and music events in central London this summer, all accessible by public transport including: For Londoners, looking to save on days out over the holidays, TfL customers can save 30 per cent on entry to the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College when using the TfL network*** until 17 November. The IFS Cloud Cable Car is also offering customers up to 30 per cent discount when tickets are booked online and in advance. London’s only cable car is a great way to see the capital’s landmarks, with views including St Paul’s Cathedral and The Gherkin, and also provide transport to popular sight-seeing attractions such as the O2 and The National Maritime Museum. They are also fully wheelchair-accessible and offer concession tickets, allowing every Londoner to come on board. For more information on the Old Royal Naval College partnership offer or other TfL deals please visit tfl.gov.uk/deals TfL’s free app, TfL Go, helps customers plan their journey with real-time information, including quieter times to travel. Customers can use step-free mode for planning accessible journeys, in addition to information on toilet locations, platform access and live lift status. *Data for ridership for Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 August is being checked and verified by TfL **The estimate of £300million boost to London’s economy was calculated using data from UKInbound’s Tourism Statistics for 2018 Tourism-Statistics-2019.pdf (ukinbound.org), which showed that, excluding day visits, each domestic and international tourist to the UK generated about £396 to the UK economy in 2018. Adjusted for inflation (using Consumer Price Index including Housing – CPIH) this would translate to £471 in 2023. This figure was multiplied by 640,000 – the expected audience at Wembley Stadium across the gigs. ***The Old Royal Naval College partnership offer is available for up to four adults when they book in advance by visiting TfL’s London blog. At least one person from each party must show proof of travel for the same day via the TfL Oyster and Contactless app to receive the offer, which must be downloaded and logged into in advance. Children 16 and under go free. Excludes the first Sunday of every month. For full T&Cs click here.

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Aug 22, 2024

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