Debate heats up as Singapore Prime Minister says deal with Taylor Swift is not ‘unfriendly’
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday that the closed-door agreement for Taylor Swift to perform in Singapore ensures that she will not perform in other Southeast Asian countries during her Eras tour.
“(Our) agencies have negotiated an agreement with her to come to Singapore to perform and make Singapore her only stop in Southeast Asia,” he said during a press conference at the conference regional summit in Melbourne, according to Reuters.
The statement is the first confirmation from the city government that the deal for Swift to perform in Singapore contained exclusivity clauses that prevented her from performing in other countries.
On Monday, Edwin Tong, Singapore’s minister for culture, community and youth, refused to answer this question twice during the parliamentary session.
He also did not reveal the size of Swift’s funding, but said the amount was “not as high as speculated.”
“For reasons of business confidentiality, we cannot disclose the specific size of the grant or the terms of the grant,” he said.
The issue came to the fore on February 16 when Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin accused Singapore of giving Swift’s group $2 million to $3 million per show, in exchange for not performing in other cities. in the area, according to Bangkok Post Office.
Diplomatic thorn
Paying sponsorship to Swift’s promoters has become a diplomatic thorn in Singapore’s side, drawing criticism from neighbors for brokering a deal that left them out. highest-grossing tour of all time.
According to local media, Philippine House member Joey Salceda said this is “not what good neighbors do” and added that such agreements are against ASEAN principles.
Lee on Tuesday disputed this characterization, saying, “It turned out to be a very successful arrangement. I don’t consider it unfriendly.”
Taylor Swift performs at Singapore National Stadium on March 2, 2024. Singapore and Tokyo are Swift’s only stops in Asia on her Eras global tour.
Ashok Kumar/tas24 | Getty ImagesEntertainment | beautiful images
Swift’s six concerts in Singapore are expected to gross between $260 million and $372 million into the island’s economy, assuming 70% of concertgoers come from abroad.
During her first three concerts in Singapore, Swift asked the audience to applaud – first the locals, then those from abroad who had come to see the show. In any case, the applause of the visitors was much louder.
According to travel software company RateGain, the average daily room rate at hotels in Singapore increased from $256 to $400 this week, with bookings up 92% from visitors from Malaysia, 111% from Thailand and 189% from Indonesia.
Swift’s tour before Eras, her Fame Stadium Tour in 2018, included just one stop in Asia – Tokyo.
But her previous tours – the Speak Now, Red and 1989 tours – included stops in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.
Wise or selfish?
Singapore’s deal has sparked a debate about whether it was just smart or greedy.
“It is certainly a bold and wise strategic move by Singapore,” said Selena Oh, a Singapore-based communications director.
But others say the winner-takes-all mentality will hurt the region’s tourism industry, which is still recovering from the pandemic, as well as fans who cannot afford high travel fees. to meet Swift in person.
“It’s a bit selfish to ONLY think about Singapore and not the wider region. Obviously [Singapore authorities] don’t care about anyone else [than] their own,” said Christian de Boer, a Cambodia-based hotel executive.
You have to do the math and figure out what is in the best interest of Singapore and Singaporeans.”
Edwin Tong
Singapore’s Minister of Culture, Community and Youth
Some likened the deal to the way cities compete to host major sporting events, such as the Olympics, Super Bowl and World Cup.
“Did anyone object when F1 decided to come to Singapore? Did anyone pretend that there were no monetary or other material considerations?” said Irene Hoe, an editorial consultant based in Singapore.
Concerts – where artists travel from city to city to reach their fans – haven’t always been so competitive.
But that may be changing as the experience-driven tourism industry pushes concerts into money-making machines, with fans willing to travel across continents to see their favorite artists. .
A ‘meaningful’ deal?
During Monday’s Parliament session, Singaporean politician Gerald Giam asked Tong whether the Singapore government was in talks to make the island Taylor Swift’s only “vacuum” in Southeast Asia, hinting her smash hit of the same name.
“And does it realize that this might be considered evil by some of our neighbors?” he asks.
Tong replied: “You have to do the math and figure out what’s in Singapore and Singaporeans‘ the most profit.”
