Taylor Swift fans create seismic activity at Edinburgh concerts

Thousands of Taylor Swift lovers made the earth move by cheering and dancing at her three Edinburgh shows last weekend.

Thousands of Taylor Swift fans caused the earth to shake during her three concerts in Edinburgh last weekend. Swift’s fans, encouraged to “Shake It Off,” took her advice to heart, generating detectable seismic activity from as far as 6km (3.73 miles) away.

Seismic Readings and Fan Energy

The most significant commotion occurred during three of Swift’s songs: “Cruel Summer,” “Ready For It?” and “Champagne Problems.”

Of the three nights, the Friday night crowd of 73,000 fans danced, cheered, and stomped the loudest, marking the first of Swift’s 17 UK tour dates, which will conclude with a record-breaking eight-night run at London’s Wembley Stadium.

Record-Breaking Tour

Swift’s 152-date stadium tour is projected to gross more than $2bn (£1.56bn) by its conclusion in December, positioning it as the most lucrative concert tour in music history.

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Over the course of her three performances at Murrayfield, Swift played to 200,000 fans from across the globe in a three-hour show that spanned her career.

Seismic Activity Data

According to data, the Friday night concert was the most energetic, with ground movement peaking at 23.4 nanometres (nm) compared to 22.8nm on Saturday and 23.3nm on Sunday.

The highest seismic activity was recorded at 160 beats per minute (bpm) during “Ready For It?” with fans generating approximately 80kW of power. Significant movement was also noted during “Shake It Off” and “Cruel Summer,” and a four-minute applause for “Champagne Problems.”

Similar Events in the Past

Swift’s previous concerts in Seattle and Los Angeles also registered seismic events, with her Seattle performance generating activity equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake.

Expert Analysis

The British Geological Survey (BGS), the UK’s national earthquake monitoring agency, reported that its detectors were sensitive enough to pick up the small seismic activities caused by the concerts.

Callum Harrison, a BGS seismologist, expressed amazement at being able to measure the reaction of concertgoers remotely. He highlighted the thrill of exploring seismic activity generated by this unique phenomenon and affirmed Scotland’s reputation for enthusiastic audiences.

The seismic activity from the concerts was detected at two monitoring stations, the furthest being 6km away at the BGS office at Heriot Watt University.

However, experts noted that the movement generated by the concert was unlikely to be felt by anyone outside the immediate vicinity of the event.