Singapore and Taylor Swift have received criticism from a lawmaker in the Philippines for their exclusive deal which makes Singapore her only tour stop in Southeast Asia. Thailand’s Prime Minister previously claimed that Singapore agreed on a deal with Swift that means she “can’t perform in any other countries in Southeast Asia.” Swift is set to perform six shows at Singapore’s National Stadium from March 2-9. Philippines representative Joey Salceda has asked the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs to formally protest against the grant, stating that this was “not what good neighbours do.” Salceda’s criticism of Singapore’s deal with Swift follows Thailand’s complaints as to why the tour would not be stopping in their country.
Srettha Thavisin, who claimed that the Singapore government offered between $2million to $3million per show in exchange for exclusivity stated at the iBusiness Forum 2024 in Bangkok: “The Singapore government is astute. If she came to Thailand, it would have been cheaper to organise it here, and I believe she would be able to attract more sponsors and tourists to Thailand. Even though we would have to subsidise at least 500m baht, it would be worth it. If I had known this, I would have brought the shows to Thailand,” he continued in a keynote speech. “Concerts can generate added value for the economy.”
Peter Cohan, an associate professor of management at Babson College in Massachusetts, estimates that Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour would raise $5.7billion, which would be enough to send everybody in the US $20. QuestionPro, a software company, have calculated that each show raised an estimated $93million for the local economy. Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour made history by becoming the first tour to gross $1billion (£796million). The pop star hit the ten-digit threshold after 60 shows and eight months of being on the road. The magazine also claimed that Swift sold a “mind-boggling 4.3million tickets at an average ticket price of $238.95,” and calculated that the singer grossed roughly $17.3million for an average show for the North American leg of her tour.
In other news, AMC Theatres’ CEO recently revealed that the increased revenue is “literally all” from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé’s concert films
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