The European leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour has got off to a controversial start – with campaigners saying her concerts are forcing homeless people out of Edinburgh and fans demanding the singer ‘speak out’ on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The American singer has come under increasing pressure to break her silence on the Israel-Hamas war, with pro-Palestine concertgoers taking flags and placards to gigs in Madrid and Lisbon.
Meanwhile Portugal shows last week descended into chaos as furious fans tore down a fence after waiting for hours in the blistering heat to enter the Estádio da Luz stadium.
Now, in what could be yet another PR headache for the star, charity bosses have raised fears that rough sleepers in the Scottish capital are being offered temporary accommodation up to 100 miles away to make way for fans flocking to the city.
As Edinburgh prepares for the biggest series of concerts to come to Scotland in years, hotels have been booked out by fans of 34-year-old – with around 215,000 set to watch Swift perform at Murrayfield stadium on three dates next month.
Amid the pressure, Shelter Scotland says a number of the people it supports have been sent by taxi to Aberdeen and Glasgow. One was offered a place in Newcastle upon Tyne.
The housing charity has said it is ‘a blatant injustice’ for homeless people to be ‘in direct competition’ with tourists.
There is no evidence of homeless people being removed from accommodation where they are already staying.
It comes after City of Edinburgh Council declared a housing emergency last November, citing record homelessness, a shortage of social rented homes and rising private rents.
Shelter Scotland director Alison Watson said the situation was further evidence of the urgency of the country’s housing emergency.
‘In Edinburgh, that emergency now places people experiencing homelessness in direct competition with tourists; a blatant injustice,’ she said.
‘Our frontline services are already seeing people in need of a bed tonight being told their only option is to leave the city. A family going through the trauma of homelessness in Edinburgh should not have to move miles from their job, school and community to find emergency accommodation.’
City of Edinburgh Council said it was ‘absolutely not’ moving tenants out of temporary accommodation to make way for Swift fans and was working to find ‘appropriate, alternative accommodation’ for those affected.
Councillor Jane Meagher, said: ‘It is a symptom of the housing emergency we face in Edinburgh that at times we must use tourist accommodation to house homeless households.