Taylor Swift: Singapore grants itself exclusivity for star’s concerts and creates discord in Asia

On March 2, Taylor Swift began a series of six concerts in Singapore in front of 300,000 people.

The city-state’s government admitted to paying a subsidy to the American singer for the exclusivity of these shows.

While the amount has not been disclosed, some sources suggest a sum of $3 million per show.

Will Taylor Swift create a regional diplomatic incident? Thai Prime Minister Shretha Thawisin caused a stir by revealing that Singapore had paid Taylor Swift several million dollars to ensure exclusivity for her concerts in the territory. The world’s most popular pop artists will perform six concerts at the Singapore National Stadium from March 2 to 9. Over 300,000 tickets have been sold. This will be the only Southeast Asian stop on their blockbuster Eraz tour.

According to Shretha Thavisin, Singapore would have paid between two and three million dollars per concert. He assured that he would like his country to also benefit from the Taylor Swift effect. Recall that in all the cities and countries where the 34-year-old singer has performed, his income has registered a sharp increase. Independent, In Singapore, flight and hotel bookings have actually increased. American Star is expected to bring in $300 million in tourism revenue.

An inefficient process?

The Philippine Foreign Minister also expressed his anger, emphasizing that Singapore’s behavior is not worthy of the principles of solidarity of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Faced with these criticisms, Singapore authorities have downplayed the role and amount of subsidies given to Taylor Swift for the exclusivity of her concerts in the city-state.

“There has been speculation about the amount of subsidy. I can say that (the amount) of subsidy is not accurate and it is not as high as thought.” This was announced by Culture Minister Edwin Tong in Parliament on Monday.

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“For reasons of commercial confidentiality, we cannot disclose the exact amount of the grant or its terms.”Pointing out the economic benefits for Singapore, he said “are considered significant and exceed the amount of the grant”.

Edwin Tong downplayed Grant’s role in convincing Swift to perform only in Singapore. “The promoters of the best artists will do their calculations and assess where they want to perform and for how long they want to perform.” He cited Singapore’s location and infrastructure as key factors in choosing the city-state.