Transport 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.”
