Taylor Swift’s Scotland fans danced so hard they set off earthquake monitors
Fans at Taylor Swift’s Scotland concerts last weekend danced so hard they set off earthquake monitors, according to the British Geological Survey (BGS).
Seismic activity was recorded up to six kilometres away during the three gigs last Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield stadium, with some of her biggest songs causing spikes in activity every night.
“Honestly, it was the most magical and wonderful night,” said Lindsay Hempenstall who was at the Eras gig on Friday.
“A stadium full of complete love and joy, singing at the top of our lungs and sharing it all with more than 70,000 other people and my nine-year-old daughter.”
Friday night is thought to be the most highly attended show in Scottish history, which Swift described as the “wildest way to welcome a lass to your city”.
Seismograph showing ground velocity recorded 4km from the stadium and (bottom) spectrograph showing the power at each frequency (in BPM) during the concert on 7 June 2024. Pic: BGS
Fans dancing in time to the music was the main cause of the seismic activity, which reached its peak during the song …Ready For It? on all three nights.
Read more: How the Swift effect left its mark on Edinburgh
At that point, “Swifties” were transmitting enough power through their dancing and stomping to charge 6,000 car batteries, that’s around 80 kilowatts, according to BGS.
“Clearly Scotland’s reputation for providing some of the most enthusiastic audiences remains intact!” said BGS seismologist Callum Harrison.
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‘Wildest way to welcome a lass’.
Smash hits Cruel Summer, Champagne Problems and Shake It Off also triggered significant activity across the three gigs. Bethan Bryan was there on Saturday night and chose Shake It Off as her favourite song of the night.
“It was fantastically loud!” she said. “It was amazing to hear everyone sing along. 73,000 people singing for three and a half hours – everyone was so happy.”
“[My daughter] and I enjoyed singing along from the window on Friday night,” she added. “We live about 1.5 miles away and Taylor was as clear as a bell!”
Swifties at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Friday 7 June, 2024. Pic: PA
Although only by a small margin, Friday night was the most energetic gig, when Swifties moved the ground by 23.4nm.
Even Beyonce, Harry Styles and Bruce Springsteen couldn’t compete with the movement generated by Swift’s fans.
Read more: Taylor Swift’s Scotland shows in pictures
Although the three superstars’ Edinburgh gigs in May 2023 registered on earthquake monitors, they were beaten by dancing Swifties by almost 10 nanometres (nm) of movement.
Swift on stage at the Murrayfield Stadium. Pic: PA
“It’s amazing that we’ve been able to measure the reaction of thousands of concert goers remotely through our data,” said Mr Harrison.
“The opportunity to explore a seismic activity created by a different kind of phenomenon has been a thrill.”
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Although the concerts were detected by BGS’s instruments, the vibrations were unlikely to have been felt by anyone other that those in the immediate vicinity, according to the organisation.
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Swift’s 15 UK shows are predicted to boost the UK economy by almost £1bn with fans shelling out not only on tickets, but accommodation, travel, and pre-show parties.
Although the Scotland section of her tour is finished, Swift is heading south, arriving in Liverpool on Thursday, then Cardiff and ending in London’s Wembley Stadium for eight nights in total later this month and in August.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq over allegations she lived in properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
It comes after the current Bangladeshi leader, Muhammad Yunus, said London properties used by Ms Siddiq should be investigated.
He told the Sunday Times the properties should be handed back to his government if they were acquired through “plain robbery”.
Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: “It’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq.
“He appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption.
“Now the government of Bangladesh is raising serious concerns about her links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina.”
Ms Siddiq insists she has “done nothing wrong”.
Her aunt was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.
Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir to sack the minister
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As economic secretary to the Treasury, Ms Siddiq is responsible for policy on both the City and tackling corruption.
She referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog on Monday following the reports about the properties.
On the same day, the prime minister said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done, and that’s why we brought into being the new code.
“It’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts, and yes, I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”
Police in Aberdeen have widened the search area for two sisters who disappeared four days ago in the city.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV on Market Street after leaving their home on Tuesday at around 2.12am.
The sisters – who are part of a set of triplets and originally from Hungary – crossed the Victoria Bridge to the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen on CCTV in Market Street. Pic: Police Scotland/PA
They headed in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club but officers said there is no evidence to suggest the missing women left the immediate area.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and a marine unit have been trying to trace the pair.
The sisters crossed Victoria Bridge before walking along a footpath next to the River Dee
The pair were heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club on the south side of the River Dee
Further searches are being carried out towards the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour and Duthie Park.
Police Scotland said it is liaising with authorities in Hungary to support the relatives of the two sisters.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them and we are working tirelessly to find them.
“We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the inquiry.”
The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Officers have requested businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review their CCTV footage for the early morning of Tuesday 7 January.
Police added they are keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage from that time.
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