Taylor Swift’s deal to not play neighbouring countries “not unfriendly”, says Singapore prime minister

Taylor Swift doesn’t perform anywhere else in Southeast Asia as part of her current ‘Eras Tour’ is “not unfriendly”, according to the city-state’s prime minister.The ‘Midnights’ pop star has already played three of her six sold-out concerts at the 55,000-capacity National Stadium, with the remaining trio of dates scheduled for this week (March 7, 8, 9).It was reported last month that Singapore had struck a deal to prevent Swift from bringing her show to any other location within the Association Of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which comprises 10 countries.Thai prime minister Srettha Thavisin claimed he was told that the Singapore government had offered $2million to $3million (£1.6million to £2.4million) per gig in exchange for exclusivity. However, the exact figure has not been disclosed.“The Singapore government is astute,” Srettha said.

“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.”He continued: “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.

Concerts can generate added value for the economy.”The exclusivity deal has since been criticised by a lawmaker in the Philippines. “[This] isn’t what good neighbours do,” said Joey Salceda, who asked the Philippines’ Department Of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to formally protest against the grant.He added: “Our countries are good friends.

That’s why actions like that hurt.”Today (Tuesday March 5), Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said that an “arrangement” was agreed upon for Swift to make the state her only performance in the region (via Sky News).“It has turned out to be a very successful arrangement, I don’t see that as being unfriendly,” the PM explained during a press conference in Melbourne, Australia where he is attending a regional summit.Lee said that Swift had been given “certain incentives” from a government fund that was established to rebuild Singapore’s tourist industry post-COVID-19.He continued: “Sometimes one country makes a deal, sometimes another country does. I don’t explicitly say, ‘You