Thai PM Claims Taylor Swift Is Skipping Other ASEAN Nations Due To Exclusive Deal With SG
Thailand and Indonesia are considering policy changes aimed at enticing Taylor Swift to host concerts in their respective countries.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 19 Feb 2024, 05:36 PM
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has claimed that Taylor Swift's decision to make Singapore the sole stop in the Southeast Asian region for her ongoing The Eras Tour was due to an exclusive deal
According to Bangkok Post, Srettha said the global concert promoter, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), informed him that the Singaporean government had allegedly signed an exclusive deal with Swift.
AEG allegedly informed him that the Singaporean government financially supported Swift's concerts, offering between USD2 million (RM9.5 million) and USD3 million (RM14.3 million) per show in exchange for exclusivity in Southeast Asia.
"If I had known this, I would have brought the shows to Thailand," said Srettha last Friday, 16 February.
The prime minister explained that an exclusive deal with Swift was worth the cost, considering it would draw foreign concertgoers to visit Thailand and boost local economy
Srettha said he had spoken with AEG executives and assured them of his administration's readiness to offer tax incentives and other attractive measures to attract mega concerts and world-class festivals to Thailand.
The New Straits Times, citing a local report, noted that the Thai government plans to subsidise concerts, such as Swift's, with THB500 million (RM66.5 million) to attract more fans to Thailand.
"This will boost sponsorship and tourism in Thailand. And it is not only Taylor Swift but also other international recording artistes with a strong following.
"If we want the likes of Swift, Beyonce, and Coldplay to perform in Thailand, we have to provide great incentives for their concerts to happen," said Srettha.
Other than Thailand, Indonesia will also turn to 'Swiftonomics' to boost tourism spending, reported FMT.
Swift is set to perform for six nights at the 55,000-seat National Stadium in Singapore from 2 March to 9 March
Forbes estimated that the Pennsylvania-born songstress has a net worth of USD1.1 billion (RM5.2 billion), while Time described Swift's concerts as having the potential to bring staggering positive economic impact on the locales.
Last Friday, Bloomberg reported that Swift is expected to generate AUD1.2 billion (RM3.7 billion) in economic value for Melbourne alone.
