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The Philippines
This Week in AsiaLifestyle & Culture

Philippine lawmaker wants probe on Taylor Swift’s Singapore-only concert deal: ‘not what good neighbours do’

  • Lawmaker Joey Salceda says Manila should not ‘just let things like this pass’ and that it should ‘register its opposition’ to Singapore
  • Other regional politicians have also commented on the deal that supposedly states Singapore is the only Southeast Asian stop for Swift’s concerts

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Singer Taylor Swift performs on stage during a concert as part of her Eras World Tour in Sydney, on February 23. Photo: TNS
Amy Sood
A Philippine lawmaker has called on his government to question Singapore over the city state’s decision to offer American pop star Taylor Swift a significant monetary grant, supposedly to prevent her from performing anywhere else in Southeast Asia.

Calling Singapore’s move “not what good neighbours do”, Joey Salceda, who serves on the Philippine House of Representatives, asked the country’s Department of Foreign Affairs to seek an explanation on the deal from the Singaporean embassy.

The deal is said to contain a condition that Singapore would be the only stop on the Southeast Asian leg of Swift’s hugely popular Eras Tour.

“Some [US$3 million] in grants were allegedly given by the Singapore government to [concert promoter AEG] to host the concert in Singapore,” Salceda said. “The catch was that they do not host it elsewhere in the region.”

Swift arrived in Singapore on Wednesday ahead of her six sold-out concerts at the 55,000-seat National Stadium, the first of which will start this Saturday. More than 300,000 Swift fans, popularly known as “Swifties”, are expected to attend the concerts.

News of her concerts in Singapore sparked a frenzy for tickets in the city state and across the region last year, with some queuing overnight for a chance to snag tickets.

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