Singapore seems to be showing off its economic wealth by claiming to be the leader of Southeast Asia, and is devoted to attracting cultural and performance contents to visit neighboring countries. According to local media Straits Times, the Singaporean government announced on the previous day that it has paid extra money to attract Swift concerts. Singapore’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Tourism Authority said in a joint statement that authorities have directly consulted with concert host AEG. Details of the contract, such as the amount paid to attract Singapore’s performances and the conditions for exclusive performances in Southeast Asia, were not disclosed. An official from the entertainment industry told AFP, “Although requests for exclusive performances are not uncommon, it is not very common for artists to accept them.” Swift, who is on a world tour named “Eras Tour,” is scheduled to perform six times at the National Stadium in Singapore early next month. Through this performance, about 300,000 spectators will visit the Singapore venue. The only countries in the Asia-Pacific region to hold the “Eras Tour” are Japan, which has already held four Tokyo Dome concerts, Australia, and Singapore, which is set to hold a Sydney concert following Melbourne concerts. In particular, Swift’s “TheEras Tour” is the only one held in Singapore in Southeast Asia.In response to news of Swift’s performance in Singapore, neighboring countries are also actively courting her, including trying to attract Swift performances in their own countries. Thai Prime Minister Seta Tawishin claimed that the only Swift performance in Southeast Asia is because of Singapore’s government support. “The Singaporean government has provided $2 million to $3 million per performance in exchange for the exclusive right to Swift concert in Southeast Asia,” he said at a business forum event held on the 16th. Prime Minister Tawishin said he learned this in a conversation with AEG, an entertainment company that hosts Swift’s performance, and said he is ready to provide financial support to attract Swift’s concert. Swift is the best pop star of the day who won the fourth Album of the Year trophy at the 66th Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles on the 4th. Last year, she was the first entertainment person to be selected as the “Person of the Year” of Time, an American current affairs magazine. There are enormous economic benefits that Swift brings in the background of countries around the world trying to hold Swift concerts. Sales soared as global tours sold out every day in each region where Swift performances are held. For this reason, the new word “Swiftnomics” (Swift+Economics) has been coined to mean that everywhere Swift goes, it creates economic ripple effects.
The “Eras Tour,” which is currently underway, also exceeded $1 billion in sales with 60 tours to North America and South America until November last year, according to Polestar, a U.S. performance industry magazine. It is the first record in sales of popular music concert tours around the world. According to Japan’s Japan Times and others, the four consecutive performances held at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 7th and 10th attracted 220,000 spectators, and the economic effect created in Tokyo alone amounted to about 34.1 billion yen. In the same month, about 192,000 fans also flocked to the Melbourne Cricket Ground held by Swift in Australia for two days from the 16th to the 17th. This is a performance of 96,000 people per episode, the highest number of spectators in Swift’s history. The Singaporean government expects fans to flock to neighboring countries to see Swift performances, which will help revitalize the economy, including accommodation and tourism. In fact, Singapore’s media Straits Times said in July last year, “There are eight months left until Swift’s performance, but all major hotels near the venue have been booked.” Singaporean authorities said, “Swift performances will create significant profits for Singapore’s economy.”
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
