MELBOURNE.- Taylor Swift stole the show Tuesday at an Asian summit when the leader of Singapore He was forced to defend the agreement for a series of exclusive concerts for the singer in his small country, which could generate animosity in the region by preventing her from performing in other neighboring countries.
Singapore is a key member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a bloc of 10 countries known as ASEAN. Their three-day summit was expected to focus on the humanitarian crisis in member country Myanmar and conflicts in the South China Sea.
Instead, on the sidelines of the summit, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was questioned about a lucrative and exclusive deal his city-state reached with Swift, which prevents the singer from wearing her tour Eras to any other country in Southeast Asia.
Agreement with Taylor Swift
Swift will perform six concerts in Singapore from March 2 to 9, and some neighboring Southeast Asian countries complain that Singapore has deprived them of the tourist boom her tour brings to the host country.
Singapore’s leader confirmed on Tuesday that Swift received incentives in exchange for Singapore being the sole destination of Eras in Southeast Asia. Lee defended the deal at a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a self-proclaimed swiftie (or Swift fan) whose annual Spotify playlist has Taylor Swift as their second most streamed artist of 2023.
Albanese is hosting the summit in Melbourne, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of Australia becoming ASEAN’s first external member.
Lee did not disclose the cost of the exclusive deal, which was financed by a government fund established to rebuild tourism after the disruptions caused by COVID-19. He also did not directly answer whether he had encountered any resentment from other leaders because of the agreement, indicating instead that if Singapore had not reached an exclusive agreement, some other neighboring country would have done so.
“It has turned out to be a very successful agreement. I don’t see it as unfriendly,” Lee said.
Singapore Idea
Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin drew attention to the deal in February with a public claim that a promoter told him that the Singapore government subsidized concerts with around $2 to $3 million per show on the condition that that the artist would not appear anywhere else in the region.
Srettha said that if he had known about the deal earlier, he was confident he could achieve something similar.
But Thailand bears no resentment toward Singapore, said Prommin Lertsuridej, the prime minister’s secretary-general. He told reporters in a group interview on Monday that Thailand took what Singapore did as an example, and although Thailand already has some laws to allow such incentive packages, the government is working to eliminate bureaucracy and make Thailand a more attractive place. for international events.
“We learn from each other,” Prommin said, adding that he admired Singapore for being able to come up with and achieve this: “good business idea.”
A representative for Swift did not respond when contacted for comment.
FUENTE: AP
