There’s a feud between Singapore and neighboring government officials — and it’s all down to Taylor Swift.
Ahead of the pop star’s six sold-out shows in the city-state, which kick off on Saturday, a lawmaker in the Philippines has criticized the exclusive deal that Singaporean authorities reportedly brokered with her to ensure that she wouldn’t take The Eras Tour to other territories in the region.
On Wednesday, Philippines representative Joey Salceda called on the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to protest against the grant the Singapore government authorized in exchange for Swift agreeing not to perform elsewhere in Southeast Asia during her sold-out world tour, local media reported.
“Some $3 million in grants were allegedly given by the Singapore government to AEG to host the concert in Singapore. The catch was that they do not host it elsewhere in the region,” Salceda said, according to The Straits Times.
He said it “isn’t what good neighbors do,” adding: “Our countries are good friends. That’s why actions like that hurt.”
Per GMA Network, Salceda noted that while the grants significantly boosted Singapore’s economy, “it was at the expense of neighboring countries, which could not attract their own foreign concertgoers, and whose fans had to go to Singapore.”
He added that the Philippines should not “just let things like these pass.”
The Grammy Award-winning artist, who recently announced that she will be releasing a new studio album in April, is performing six shows at Singapore’s 55,000-seat National Stadium between March 2 and 9.
Salceda’s criticism comes after Thailand’s prime minister revealed that Singapore had brokered the deal that meant Swift couldn’t take the tour to other nine territories in the Association of South East Asian Nations, which also includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
According to Sky News, while speaking at the iBusiness Forum 2024 in Bangkok in February, Srettha Thavisin said promoter AEG informed him of the agreement after he enquired why the world tour would not be stopping in his home country. Swift has never performed in Thailand, although she was scheduled to perform there in 2014, but ended up canceling due to political turbulence.
He claimed he was told the Singapore government offered $2 million to $3 million per show in exchange for exclusivity.
However, according to BBC News, Singapore’s CNA has suggested it may be just S$2 million for all six nights.
Swift’s stop-over in Singapore is expected to bring economic benefits to the city-state. The recent Australian leg of the tour gave a $558 million boost to the economy, according to an estimate from Angel Zhong, an Associate Professor of Finance at RMIT University (via Forbes).
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