SINGAPORE: The Prime Minister of Thailand may have sparked a regional culture conflict of sorts by alleging that Singapore has exclusivity for Taylor Swift to perform only at the Little Red Dot, and in no other Southeast Asian country.
From March 2 to 9, Swift, arguably the most popular pop singer around the globe at present, will be performing six shows at Singapore’s National Stadium, the only Southeast Asian stop she’s making on her bestselling Eras tour.
After the singer’s concert dates were announced in mid-2023, fans from Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and other nations in the region bemoaned that she would not be performing in their countries.
Some are flying into Singapore just to see Swift, while others have flown to Japan, where she performed from Feb 7 to 10, for the same reason.
Read also: Taylor Swift boosts SG economy & reputation, but are local artists left in the shadows?
At the iBusiness Forum 2024 in Bangkok, where he gave the keynote speech, Thai PM Srettha Thavisin claimed that Swift and her team had been offered between US$2 and $3 million (S$2.7 to S$4 million) for each of her shows for the sake of performing only in Singapore. He claims he learned about the alleged deal from the promoter AEG.
SkyNews reported on Friday (Feb 16) that it reached out to the Singapore government, AEG, and Taylor Swift’s team for comment, but it has not yet updated its report on the matter.
Calling the Singapore government “astute,” Mr Srettha added, “If she came to Thailand, it would have been cheaper to organise it here, and I believe she would be able to attract more sponsors and tourists to Thailand. Even though we would have to subsidise at least 500 million baht (S$18.8 million), it would be worth it.”
He also said that had he known about the deal, he would have brought the shows to Thailand and that “Concerts can generate added value for the economy.”
The economic impact of the Eras Tour has been described as “staggering.” Countries and cities where Swift has performed have enjoyed a large boost in revenues. In North America alone, the tour was projected to rake in US$2.2 billion (S$2.97 billion) in earnings.
The economic valuation of the tour has been extenuated to be at US$5 billion (S$6.74 billion), an amount higher than the Gross Domestic Product of 50 countries.
In the United States, fans were said to have spent an average of US$1,300 (S$1,758) per person on tickets, travel, clothing, and merchandise on the tour. /TISG