Cruel summer for Bank of England as the return of music concerts fuels inflation

As if central banks didn’t have enough worries, blockbuster concerts may be hampering the fight against inflation.

Music festivals and gigs have come roaring back since the end of the pandemic, with Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen and Elton John touring the UK this year, and Taylor Swift coming in 2024.

But a common theme fans and economists have noticed is the soaring cost of tickets, travel and accommodation – or ‘tourflation’ as it has been dubbed.

Klaus Baader, global chief economist at Societe Generale, says prices linked to concerts have ‘exploded’.

And, according to Filip Andersson at Danske Bank, the impact of Beyonce’s tour stop in Stockholm was ‘evident’ in Sweden’s inflation numbers.

With inflation in the UK still running at 8.7 per cent, a similar effect here is the last thing the Bank of England needs.

But when Beyonce performed in Cardiff in May, hotel rooms were advertised for up to £1,000 a night. Tickets for Taylor Swift range from £57 to £661.

‘These are eye watering sums,’ said Neil Wilson, analyst at Markets. ‘It doesn’t take too many people to buy the tickets for it to have an effect.’ 

Official figures for May show surging ticket prices were among the factors behind higher than expected inflation.

However Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec, said: ‘I’d be a little surprised if there was a visible impact from a particular concert on the inflation numbers – but it’s not impossible.’