Beyoncé Sweden: is inflation in country being caused by singer - situation explained after Stockholm concert

Over her illustrious and jaw-dropping music career, Beyoncé has been blamed for many things - whether it be for bringing the house down with one of her Renaissance concerts or releasing catchy and iconic songs - but never for being a pivotal influence on a country's economy.

That is according to chief economists and expert analysts who have said that singer’s decision to kick off her much-anticipated world tour in Stockholm in May led to a surge in prices in the area as tens of thousands of fans descended on the city.

Here is everything you need to know about the situation in Sweden and the impact Beyoncé has had on Sweden's bills bills bills.

Has Beyoncé caused rising inflation in Sweden?

The global superstar is said to be behind soaring inflation in Sweden, with expert analysts blaming May's show in Stockholm for leading to rates being 'higher than expected'. While Statistics Sweden also found that costs of hotel and restaurants visits rose thanks to the singer's visit to Scandinavia.

But it is not all doom and gloom, as official figures show that electricity and food prices have decreased to 9.7%. This is down from 10.5% that was recorded in April 2023.

Michael Grahn, an economist at Danske Bank, spoke on the influence of Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour performance in Stockholm on 10 May to the BBC and 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. "

Due to the super-sized interest in seeing Beyoncé perform live across all of her 50 shows worldwide - which runs until September - fans have travelled to and from every corner of the globe. Visit Sweden famously described the country's recent boom in tourism as the 'Beyoncé effect' with Birgitta Palmér confirming that a large number of the bookings came from the US, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Will the effect of Beyoncé's Sweden gig die down?

Grahn told the Wall Street Journal that the impact of Beyoncé's gig was something "very rare" and that the rate of inflation in Sweden is expected to settle back down to more normal rates by July. Yet more experts have warned that Bruce Springsteen's sell-out concerts in Göteborg between 24 and 26 June could yield a similar impact on the Swedish economy.