Taylor Swift making millions for Liverpool FC after club hit $638m objective
It's now less than a month until Taylor Swift performs at Anfield as part of her vastly successful Eras Tour. Something of a coup for Liverpool FC, the club can now count its profits.
Having secured permission from the council, Anfield hosted its first bout of gigs in the summer of 2019. Liverpool, of course, is not using the pitch during the close season, and performances from Take That, Bon Jovi and Pink provided a welcome boost to the coffers.
The pandemic then put FSG's grand plans on hold, but musical acts have since been welcomed back. The Eagles, the Rolling Stones and Elton John all performed at Anfield in 2022.
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Redevelopment at Anfield then lost Liverpool another year of musical acts last summer. But to say it is back with a bang would be an understatement, with Taylor Swift the hottest ticket in music right now. Pink is also returning later in the summer.
The city of Liverpool has certainly embraced Swift's incoming arrival. It is transforming into 'Taylor Town', with stations dedicated to her various 'Eras' erected in and around the center, forming a trail.
It's hard to work out the precise benefit of hosting an event like this, with all kinds of relevant parties taking a slice of the pie. But Liverpool can certainly expect to do well out of welcoming Swift to Anfield, with the ECHO describing previous concert windfalls as 'significant'.
Just take the words of Peter Moore, former chief executive at Liverpool. Speaking to the Financial Times in 2018, he underlined the importance of utilizing Anfield as a music venue.
"Non-football events are massive," Moore said. "What do those events do? They fund football."
Speaking to a business audience around the same time, Moore set out his goal for Liverpool FC. "If you are not a £500m football team you are not going to win anything."
That figure of $638m (£500m/€587m) refers to annual revenue. And with the help of previous concerts, among plenty of other things, Liverpool has now surpassed that mark.
So if Arne Slot can come in and take the fight to Manchester City, then Taylor Swift might well have been partly responsible. Perhaps she's back in her Red era.
Liverpool.com says: Repurposing Anfield during the summer has long seemed like a relatively simple way of increasing revenues. This year should be the most lucrative yet, given the expanded capacity.
Attracting Taylor Swift is also massive. Every venue would have wanted to host the Eras Tour, but Liverpool is the only city in England outside of London doing so (she's also coming to Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin). An initial two nights has been extended to three, which is good news for fans of the club and the singer alike.