“Certain incentives” have been created to ensure that Swift only appears in Singapore and no other Southeast Asian country.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has confirmed a deal his government struck with Taylor Swift to make the country the only stop on the “Eras” tour in Southeast Asia.
“I don’t see that as unkind”
The Thai prime minister claimed last month that concert promoter AEG had informed him that Singapore’s government had offered Swift an additional $2 to 3 million per show. On Tuesday, March 5, Lee confirmed that Swift received “certain incentives” from a government fund. However, he said nothing about the amount of the subsidies.
“Our agencies have negotiated an agreement with Taylor Swift to come and perform in Singapore, making Singapore her only stop in Southeast Asia,” Lee told a press conference in Melbourne. “It turned out to be a very successful arrangement. I don’t see that as unkind.”
Disappointed neighboring countries and fans
Some Southeast Asian neighbors have complained that they are being deprived of the tourist boom that their concerts bring. Lee then only suggested that another country would otherwise have signed an exclusive contract: “Sometimes one country makes a deal, sometimes another country. I don’t say explicitly: ‘You come here only on the condition that you don’t go to other places.'”
Many of Swift’s fans in Southeast Asia were disappointed when it was announced in 2023 that she would be skipping most of the region during her “Eras” tour, stopping only in Singapore. The singer is just halfway through six sold-out shows in the city-state.
Their management has not yet commented on the Prime Minister’s statement.