Homeless people ‘leave Edinburgh’ in taxi to make room for Taylor Swift fans

Several homeless people have reportedly been transported by taxi from Edinburgh to Aberdeen and Glasgow to make room for tourists ahead of Taylor Swift performances next month.

Shelter Scotland told the BBC that homeless people it supports were sent by taxi to Aberdeen and Glasgow amid a housing emergency – while one person was offered accommodation temporary as far as Newcastle.

There is no indication that the homeless were evicted from the housing where they were already residing.

On indeed, most of the housing emergency in Scotland. »

Around 200,000 fans are expected to descend on the Scottish capital over three days from June 7-9. Scottish Gas Stadium Murrayfield will host what is expected to be the biggest Scottish stadium spectacle in its history.

Fans arriving for concerts on Swift’s Eras tour were met with sky-high prices for hotel rooms in Edinburgh, as competition for accommodation took off ahead of the performances.

Housing councilor Jane Meagher said: “It is a symptom of the housing emergency we face in Edinburgh that we sometimes have to use tourist accommodation to house homeless households.

“We know it won’t be available all year round, particularly during the busy summer months, so we reluctantly use it as a last resort.

“We are aware of the situation and are working with affected households to find suitable alternative accommodation. »

Edinburgh City Council, however, insisted that it was absolutely not a matter of “displacing tenants from temporary tourist accommodation to make way for Taylor Swift fans”.

After Edinburgh, Swift will perform in Liverpool, Cardiff, London and Dublin throughout June.

His tour is expected to increase UK spending by £1 billion.

For the 15-day leg in the UK alone, around 1.2 million tickets were put on sale.