Beyoncé has been trying to tell us for years that she runs the world, but her ongoing world tour might have just proved it as she's now being held responsible for rising costs in Sweden.
She really is 'that girl'.
The pop star launched her Renaissance World Tour in Stockholm, Sweden last month and is set to perform dozens of her hit tracks in multiple shows across Europe and North America.
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Considering it's her first solo tour since 2016, fans have been doing everything in their power to see the Queen Bey live on stage, even if that means travelling to another country to do so.
When the Renaissance World Tour began, Sweden experienced such an increased demand for hotel and restaurant bookings that it literally impacted the country's economic statistics.
I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the cost of living increased across the globe in recent months, and inflation in Sweden peaked at 12.3 percent in December before dropping to 10.5 percent in April.
Rates reduced again last month, but not as much as financial markets had expected.
Predictions suggested inflation would drop by more than one percent to around 9.4 percent in May. Instead, likely due to Beyoncé's tour, it only dropped to 9.7 percent.
In an inflation report by the Swedish government, the inflation rate was reported to have been affected by hotel and restaurant prices, which rose 3.3 percent over the previous month, as well as prices for 'recreational services', which encompasses concert tickets.
Michael Grahn, economist at Danske Bank, expressed belief that the American star had helped drive the jump in hotel rates, and that she might also be behind the unexpectedly strong increase in recreation and culture prices.
Sharing figures on Twitter, Grahn wrote: "Beyonce's start of her world tour in Sweden seems to have coloured May inflation, how much is uncertain, but probably 0.2 p.p. of the 0.3 p.p that hotels/restaurants added. Perhaps also hiked concert ticket prices (recreation). Otherwise as expected.
"We expect this upside surprise to be reversed in June as prices on hotels and tickets reverse back to normal."
Grahn told BBC News that he personally 'wouldn't blame' Beyoncé for the high inflation print, but added that 'her performance and global demand to see her perform in Sweden apparently added a little to it'.
Beyoncé performed two shows in Sweden on 10 and 11 May, entertaining thousands of concertgoers at Stockholm’s Friends Arena.
The second night in Sweden was added after the first sold out almost instantly, with fans travelling from as far as the United States to see the star live on stage.
Topics: Money, Beyonce, Travel, World News, Music
Emily Brown