The “Queen B” is taking the brunt of the blame for a recent spike in inflation in Sweden, as economists are saying that Beyoncé is the reason behind rapidly rising costs in the country.
Michael Grahn, the chief economist at Danske Bank, the biggest bank in neighboring Denmark, said on Wednesday that the singer’s decision to kick off her “Renaissance” world tour in Stockholm caused a surge in hotel and restaurant prices in the area, with tens of thousands of fans entering the city.
While the exact rate of inflation for the month of May is not yet known, Grahn said they are estimating hotel and restaurant costs have increased from 0.2%-0.3%.
In total, he said that the fans flocking to the country to see the music icon caused two-thirds of the price rises seen in the country’s hospitality sector.
Thankfully, he also says the rising prices aren’t expected to stay.
“We expect this upside surprise to be reversed in June as prices on hotels and tickets reverse back to normal,” Grahn tweeted.
While Beyoncé is one of the most popular artists in the world, Grahn shared with CNN that seeing something like this is quite unusual.
“[That’s] definitely not normal,” Grahn told CNN. “Stars come here all the time, [but] we seldom see effects like this.”
Beyoncé will host two concerts in Sweden, both of which are already sold out.
Part of the reason so many fans have traveled to the country to see the performer is the relatively cheap tickets, compared to everywhere else, as well as the “very weak” Swedish currency boosting their spending power, Grahn said.
With a “limited number of hotels and accommodations” in Sweden’s capital, Grahn said that some fans were pushed further into the country, driving hospitality prices up in areas as far as 31 miles from the city.
While Bruce Springsteen is set to play in Sweden later this month, Grahn says they aren’t expecting to see the same economic impact from “The Boss.”
“What we saw with Beyoncé was a little bit special,” he said.
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