KUALA LUMPUR – A team from a Singaporean corporate entity started wooing pop queen Taylor Swift in early 2023, way before any international dates were set for her billion-dollar Eras Tour.
At the time of negotiations, Swift was just about to embark on the US leg of her massive tour.
Kallang Alive Sport Management (KASM) chairman Keith Magnus told the Straits Times that the team was the proactive “tip of the spear” for the government when it initiated discussions with Team Taylor.
“Once the discussion had progressed and we saw the opportunity of holding an only-in-Singapore event, we then thought it made sense to take a whole-of-government approach and brought in other relevant agencies to really have Team Singapore bringing in Team Taylor.”
He added that there was “certainly an understanding that it was an only-in-Singapore event, (and) that’s how it was branded”.
By June 2023, concert promoter Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) announced the dates for the unprecedented six-day run at the National Stadium in Singapore – the only Southeast Asian stop of the Eras Tour, with Tokyo being the only other stop in Asia.
Swift will perform at the 60,000-capacity venue on March 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9. More than 300,000 tickets were sold with a large number of fans coming to Singapore for the concerts.
“It’s now a proven model that if you are an artiste and you want to be in Asia to cater to the Asia fan base, you really just have to come to Singapore, play here,” said Magnus.
“Fans are able and willing to travel to Singapore to have a great experience and participate not just in the concert, but a broader offering of what the country has to offer.”
Aside from Swift, Coldplay also played for six days at the National Stadium in January, while Ed Sheeran drew a record crowd of 60,000 on February 16. Pop star Bruno Mars will be playing for three days in April, drawing a total of 150,000 people.
Singapore’s move to secure exclusivity with Swift is not going down well with its Asean neighbours.
On February 16, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said Singapore offered subsidies of up to US$3 million for each concert in exchange for exclusivity with the US superstar.
The Singapore Tourism Board and Culture, Community and Youth Ministry confirmed that a grant was provided but did not disclose the amount.
Swift had developed a reputation for driving economic spillovers from her concerts with a phenomenon known as “Swiftonomics”, which is estimated to have generated US$8.5 billion (some RM40.63 billion) for the US economy in the third quarter of last year, according to Bloomberg Economics.
Meanwhile, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said while the government does not allocate any funds to concert organisers to obtain exclusive rights for performances here, the Tourism, Arts, and Culture Ministry could propose to implement this, subject to the cabinet’s discussion and approval.
Indonesia has formed a 1 trillion rupiah tourism fund to entice artistes to play in the country.
“We need ‘Swiftonomics’ for Indonesian tourism,” said Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno on February 20.
On the same day, Hong Kong chief executive John Lee said the city must be relentless in its efforts to lure large-scale events. – February 24, 2024
