A concert by the American singer, Beyoncé, has been blamed for a surge in inflation in Sweden.
The former member of Destiny’s Child performed in Stockholm as part of her world tour at the beginning of last month and the demand for accommodation and restaurants was so great that the numbers have been reflected in the latest inflation figures.
Annual inflation in Sweden for May was recorded at 9.7%. Forecasts had expected inflation to be slightly lower, at 9.4%. Inflation has been in double digits in recent months, having peaked at 12.3% in December, but now seems to be declining.
An economist at Dankse Bank, Michael Grahn, was quoted by the BBC as saying: ‘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.’
This is Beyoncé’s first solo tour in seven years with some estimating the tour could gross over R40 billion.
Her performances in Stockholm were the first in the current tour, with the last concert scheduled to be held in New Orleans at the end of September.
Image: Nat Ch Villa, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons