Why Taylor Swift is causing tensions between Singapore and Thailand

Love her or hate her, but there’s no denying that Taylor Swift is making headlines everywhere. In the US, she’s at the heart of a controversy where Republicans are accusing her of trying to influence the presidential polls and now, it seems that she’s found herself in the middle of a row between Singapore and other Southeast Asian nations.

What’s going on? How has the American pop princess found herself at the heart of tensions between nations? As she sings, ‘you need to calm down’ as we give you the answers.

What’s this ‘exclusivity’ deal by Taylor Swift?

Taylor Swift is on a world tour titled the Eras Tour. Currently, she’s in the Asia-Pacific leg of her tour, travelling to Singapore and Japan. She, however, has given a miss to all other Southeast nations such as Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Speaking on this, Thailand prime minister Srettha Thavisin claimed that Singapore had sought a deal with Taylor Swift to prevent her from playing elsewhere in Southeast Asia on her Eras tour. At the iBusiness Forum 2024 in Bangkok, Thavisin claimed that Taylor’s concert promoter AEG had been offered subsidies of $2 million-$3 million a show by the Singapore government as part of an exclusivity agreement. It’s important to note here that the American pop icon is playing six sold-out shows at the 55,000-seat National Stadium in Singapore in March.

“AEG didn’t tell me the exact figure but they said the Singapore government offers subsidies of between $2 million and $3 million,” Thavisin was quoted as saying by The Guardian. “But the Singaporean government is clever. They told [organisers] not to hold any other shows in [south-east] Asia.”

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He added, as per a report in the Thai Enquirer, that if she had organised shows in Thailand, it would have been cheaper. “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 500 million baht, it would be worth it,” Thavisin stressed.

So, what’s the big deal then?

But why would this make Thailand see ‘red’? That’s because of the economics of it all.

Taylor’s Eras Tour — her most expansive yet, boasting 151 shows across five continents, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time, surpassing an impressive $1 billion in revenue — has been credited with boosting the economies of the place she performs.

For instance, Bloomberg reported that Melbourne’s economy was boosted by a record $1.2 billion after she performed in the city.

During her US-leg of the tour late last year, TIME magazine recorded that the tour had projected to generate close to $5 billion in consumer spending in the United States alone. “If Taylor Swift were an economy, she’d be bigger than 50 countries,” said Dan Fleetwood, President of QuestionPro Research and Insights, in a story for GlobalNewsWire.

A report from survey provider QuestionPro estimated that each Eras show generated around $36 million in direct and indirect spending for the local economy, supporting more than 300 jobs per show.

Such is the impact of her tour that economists have dubbed it as the ‘TSwift Lift’ — the economic effect cities saw when her tour came to town.

And world leaders have also jumped on to the Swift bandwagon, asking her to perform in their country. MPs and leaders from Canada, Australia, Thailand and Chile have all tweeted to Taylor Swift, asking her to consider making a stop, hoping to reap the economic benefits of her tour. One Canadian MP even went as far as filing an official grievance with the House of Commons, saying that Taylor Swift skipping Canada on her tour would deprive the country’s local economy of benefits.

Her Japan leg of the tour has also benefited the country’s economy. According to Mitsumasa Etou, a spokesperson for the research platform Economic Effects NET and a part-time lecturer at Tokyo City University, Taylor’s concerts have generated an estimated 34.1 billion yen, making it Japan’s most significant musical event in terms of projected economic impact.

Ahead of her Singapore concerts, scheduled from 2-9 March, the city-state is also witnessing the impact. Taylor Swift’s concerts are expected to attract Swifties from across the region, bringing with them tourist dollars.

According to Traveloka president Caesar Indra, flight bookings have increased six-fold, indicating the immense popularity of concert-driven tourism. Additionally, hotel reservations at some three- and four-star hotels have spiked by more than 20 per cent, according to local reports.

Has this happened in the past?

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that Swift has skipped performing in Thailand. In 2014, the icon had reported to have a sold-out show scheduled at the Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi Province, Thailand. However, the show was abruptly cancelled. It was later revealed that the political unrest owing to the military coup by the former Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was the reason for the cancellation.

With inputs from agencies