A Filipino congressman has criticized Singapore over its exclusive deal with famous American pop singer Taylor Swift. Accordingly, Singapore became the only stop in Southeast Asia on her Eras Tour.
On February 28, representative Joey Salceda asked the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs to officially protest the agreement that the Singapore Government created in exchange for Taylor Swift agreeing not to perform at any other location in the Southeast. Asia during her prestigious world tour.
“That is not the way good neighbors behave,” Mr. Salceda said in a media statement. He added that Singapore’s actions harmed its diplomatic relationship with Manila.
Mr. Salceda is an economist representing Albay province in the National Assembly, currently holding the position of chairman of the investor committee established by the Government to monitor bills that generate Government revenue.
“The two countries are good friends. That’s why such actions hurt us,” Mr. Salceda said.
Why did Taylor Swift only choose Singapore to perform?
Some of Taylor Swift’s fans, known as Swifties, were upset when Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin revealed on February 16 that concert organizer Anschutz Entertainment Group shared information about the Singapore Government ” support” up to 3 million USD (equivalent to 4 million SGD) for each concert. In return, Taylor Swift was not allowed to perform in other Southeast Asian countries.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Sports later confirmed that the upcoming concerts were supported by the government, but did not reveal how much money had been invested in the singer. pop musician.
Kallang Alive Sport Management, which manages the National Stadium, has been pursuing Taylor Swift’s team since early 2023 before she confirmed any venues for her world tour. They then succeeded in reaching an agreement to perform only in Singapore.
The ministry and STB said that Singapore’s tourism industry is likely to benefit from Taylor Swift’s six-day concert, with more than 300,000 tickets sold. Swifties (the nickname for Taylor Swift’s fans) from across the country and neighboring countries in Southeast Asia are flocking to the National Stadium to watch the singer perform her most famous songs.
While Mr. Salceda shared that the Philippines should oppose Singapore’s agreement with Taylor Swift. He also said that “the policy has been effective” as hotel room sales and air travel to Singapore have grown.
He said this challenges Manila to upgrade its infrastructure to host concerts for top artists like Swift. “Going forward, however, we need to raise our bar,” Mr. Salceda said.
Several Filipino Swifties upset over Manila’s exclusion from The Eras Tour have taken to social media to express their disappointment over the past few months. They lamented the lack of concert infrastructure in the Philippines that could have met the requirements needed to host Taylor Swift’s concerts.
The largest concert venue in the country is the Philippine Coliseum, located about 25km north of Manila. It has the same 55,000 capacity as Singapore’s National Stadium, but does not have the football field-sized performance area required for The Eras Tour.
Filipino fans quickly bought tickets for Swift’s concerts in neighboring countries like Singapore, Japan and even Australia. Alexandra Balane, a Filipino Swiftie (26 years old) said she was not surprised that Taylor Swift skipped Manila on her tour, due to the lack of necessary facilities.
However, she was surprised to learn that Singapore is the only stop in Southeast Asia when many other countries in the region also have large stadiums. However, this does not prevent Ms. Balane from buying tickets for Swift’s concerts in Singapore on March 2 and March 3.
While Ms. Balane disagrees with the Philippines’ proposal to protest the Eras Tour issue on the diplomatic front, she still hopes that the controversy will push her country to learn from Singapore’s strategy.
“Singapore is probably unique in having the infrastructure to handle the number of fans coming from all over the world. The Philippines will never be able to host that,” she said.
Fashion brand manager Leah Reyes (29 years old) was also disappointed that Taylor Swift would not perform in Manila, but she said she would prefer to see Taylor Swift perform in Singapore. She has tickets for a concert in Singapore on March 7.
She often watches concerts by her favorite artists when they are held in the Philippines, but she is aware of how issues such as venues, traffic jams, and lack of public transportation are making her It is difficult for world-famous artists like Taylor Swift to organize performances here. The 29-year-old girl said that Singapore’s agreement with Swift is “normal” for a country with enough money and infrastructure to organize the Eras Tour.
Feeling the pain of missing out on the benefits from “Swiftonomics – economic benefits thanks to Taylor Swift”, leaders of several territories in the region have promised to make efforts to own the world’s major events. world in the future.
Mr. Srettha said that Thailand will provide visa-free travel and change regulations on drinking alcohol at concerts. Hong Kong leader John Lee shared that the city must make continuous efforts to attract major events to the land of fragrant ports.
Mr. Salceda’s comments about Singapore also come days after about 100 Filipino Swifties complained on social media that they were deceived by someone fake selling Eras Tour tickets in Singapore. In social media posts, the victims said they met the seller, named Patrick Steven Nanud Agoroto, through a Facebook group. They booked not only concert tickets but also plane tickets and accommodation through this person.
But they later discovered it was a scam when Mr. Agoroto announced that all the concert tickets he had purchased were cancelled. The victims filed a complaint against the group with the National Bureau of Investigation of the Philippines, which is currently investigating this case.
