Taylor Swift, 36, considered the world's wealthiest female pop star, is set to walk down the aisle with American professional football player Travis Kelce, 36, in the heart of Manhattan, New York. Attention is now focused on whether the "Taylornomics" effect—which generated $5 billion (about 7.67 trillion won) in economic impact from a single tour—will also come into play at her wedding.
According to New York City permits obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, the wedding of Swift and Kelce began at Madison Square Garden, a large arena, at 6:30 p.m. that day. After a pre-party attended by 100 guests, roads were closed starting at midnight on Wednesday, with the main ceremony running from 5 p.m. until 4 a.m. the following day. About 1,000 guests are reported to attend the main ceremony. American pop star Selena Gomez and actor Bradley Cooper were among those attending Swift's wedding.
Behind Swift's ability to hold her wedding at Madison Square Garden, regarded as the world's most famous arena, lies the enormous wealth she has accumulated through royalties and concerts. Forbes recently reported that Swift's net worth reached $2 billion (about 3 trillion won), making her the wealthiest female pop star in history. The daily rental fee for Madison Square Garden is known to be in the range of $1 million to $2 million (about 1.5 billion to 3 billion won). Given the three-day wedding, at least $3 million (about 4.5 billion won) is being spent on the rental.
Including flowers and interior decorations, the estimated cost of the wedding exceeds a total of $20 million (about 30.8 billion won), Forbes reported. That is not all. Due to security concerns, more than 130 New York City police officers are also being deployed to the site. According to U.S. entertainment outlet TMZ, the labor costs for the New York City police deployed at Swift's wedding are estimated to exceed $160,000 (about 245 million won). As if conscious of the controversy over the lavish wedding, Swift and Kelce donated $26 million (about 39.7 billion won) to several charities in the United States ahead of the wedding.
The key question is whether "Taylornomics," which shakes up local communities with a single performance, will be reprised. With more than 1,100 guests expected to attend the wedding, plus visits from fans and journalists, hotels near New York are expected to be packed. Earlier, in its Beige Book economic conditions report in May 2023, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) unusually mentioned Swift's name directly, noting that hotel revenue in Philadelphia hit a record high since the pandemic due to Swift's performances.
The fashion, beauty, and content industries are also expected to benefit indirectly. Global wedding market research firm The Knot projected that Swift's wedding will increase wedding-related spending by prospective couples worldwide by $2.2 billion (about 3.3 trillion won) over two years. As Swift's wedding draws intense coverage from major foreign media and social networking services (SNS), interest in weddings itself increases, leading to a rise in spending on luxury goods and jewelry, guest travel costs, and more. Interest in and consumption of content covering Swift's every move is also expected to increase.
