The flight of the Swifties at Murrayfield and news that Scotland could soon get a new arena in the capital has put the issue of stadium shows firmly in the spotlight.

Taylor Swift’s recent stop in Edinburgh for her all-consuming ‘Eras Tour’ has broken stadium attendance records in Scotland.

Cementing her place on the throne of pop stardom, her world tour saw around 220,000 fans descend upon Murrayfield over three nights.

The question asked in the wake of the shows is, had Tay Tay cemented Murrayfield’s place as Scotland’s go-to venue for arena-sized tours? Or will Hampden ‘Shake it off’ and rally by bringing stars to the west coast?

Hampden has played host to many a superstar in its time but falls around 20,000 short of Murrayfield’s 70,000+ capacity at just over 50,000.

Murrayfield StadiumMurrayfield Stadium (Image: SNS)

Hampden’s record attendance is held by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Cinnamon who packed the park with over 100,000 people over two nights in July 2022.

Although Murrayfield currently has no other concerts booked in the calendar, Hampden will host American rockers, The Foo Fighters and pop sensation Pink later this month.

Music Journalist and Broadcaster, Billy Sloan, feels a deep connection to Glasgow as Scotland’s capital for music, however, would agree that for shows of this scale, Murrayfield is unmatched.

He said: “While Murrayfield takes over due to its larger capacity - I think Hampden has established itself as the place to go to for big shows over the years.

“Although Murrayfield has had its fair share of big stars too, and I think there’s a healthy rivalry there.

“Glasgow is the music capital of Scotland and has the two best venues in the Barrowlands and the Hydro, but they don’t really come into the conversation when it comes to these stadium-sized shows.

“But I think Murrayfield will almost always have the edge because of its larger capacity, it wins simply because of its size.

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“With Taylor Swift’s shows, this has been cemented too.”

However, Donald MacLeod, Nightclub Owner and Founder of Holdfast Events, argues Hampden’s case, saying that it has something special.

He said: “I’m Glaswegian, and Hampden has something special – they’re both great venues, and the people that work there and the services they provide are great, but you can’t beat a Hampden roar.”

Sloan agrees with the point on the Glasgow crowd, but made the point that with these stadium-sized shows, artists aren’t always catering to a local audience, adding: “I would, however, say that the Glasgow audience is always better, but that doesn’t always apply when people are travelling far and wide to come to see these big artists from all over the country and beyond.”

Sloan also recognises the quality of the other large venues Scotland has to offer: “I think it’s great that we’ve got two such recognisable, great outdoor venues, and let’s not forget the massive shows that Ibrox and Celtic Park have hosted over the years, too – we’ve got an embarrassment of riches when it comes to good sized stadiums with good facilities that can host a show of that size and magnitude.”

There is no doubt that the economic benefits are evident with these large-scale events.

Hampden ParkHampden Park (Image: SNS)

Edinburgh City Council were delighted to host the Eras Tour, Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Val Walker, said: “These were the only Scottish dates on the ‘Eras’ tour, and we’re incredibly proud of how the city has responded to this unique challenge.

“I was also delighted to see the news that events and activity at Scottish Gas Murrayfield and the Hive Stadium in 2023 represented over £185m in economic impact. These represent a significant contribution to our city’s economy and support many jobs.

 “Whilst we’re proud to be attracting the biggest and best events to the Capital, and we work closely with organisers to ensure these events are as safe and well-managed as possible, this inevitably puts increased pressure on our services. One of the ways we’re trying to remedy this is by introducing a Visitor Levy, and I was pleased to see the Bill passing recently in the Scottish Parliament.”

 The visitor levy has been welcomed. However, Macleod believes that the proposed ‘ticket levy’ for larger artists, with a kickback for smaller grassroots venues in the country, would provide them with vital support.

He said: “You do not really see a return from these gigs. There’s a return from stuff like TRNSMT, you see it in a wave and some of the rock gigs at the Hydro, but at the end of the day, people are spending fortunes on tickets and then have the anxiety and expense of getting home.

(Image: Damian Shields/The Herald)

“The proposed ticket levy to give some money back to smaller venues would be great if it supports and is distributed fairly to all the great wee venues around the country, but how they are going to do that and get agreement on it is unclear.”

The need for support for smaller venues is echoed by Stacey Dingwall, FSB’s Head of Policy and External Affairs (Scotland): “We shouldn’t forget though it’s not just these huge concerts that create a vibrant cultural life and support jobs. There are grassroots venues in towns and cities across the country putting on great entertainment every night of the week and need our support in order to survive and thrive.  Many of them are struggling right now with rising costs and the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis, and some are being forced to close or cut their opening hours.”

The 8,500-capacity, £80 million AEG Arena in Edinburgh being given the green light shows that there is continued investment in the live events industry in Scotland and adds to a breadth of venues ready to attract the biggest names.

There is clearly only one winner when it comes to having the range of incredible venues Scotland has to offer, and that is fans of the fans of the superstars who can fill them.