AusLeisure

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has defended the deal that saw the city become the only South-East Asian stop off for global singing star Taylor Swift during her worldwide The Eras tour.

With Swift currently performing six sold-out shows in Singapore, the exclusive deal has annoyed both fans and politicians in neighbouring countries, prompting Prime Minister Lee to explain that the incentive provided to Taylor Swift to make Singapore the only regional stop during her world tour was not a hostile act towards his country's neighbours.

Prime Minister Lee told a press conference in Melbourne, where he is attending the ASEAN summit (our) agencies negotiated an arrangement with her to come to Singapore and perform and to make Singapore her only stop in South-East Asia."

Prime Minister Lee did not reveal the cost of the exclusive deal, which was paid for from a Singapore Government fund established to rebuild tourism after COVID-19 disruptions.

He also did not directly answer when asked about direct reactions for other regional leaders due to the deal, instead suggesting that if Singapore hadn't struck an exclusive deal, a neighbouring country might have done so, noting “it has turned out to be a very successful arrangement. I don't see that as being unfriendly.”

Singapore’s exclusive deal to host concerts by Swift has seen tens of thousands traveling to see the concerts.

The announcement annoyed other countries in the region, with Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin saying the grant was made on condition that it would be Swift's only show in South-East Asia, while a Filipino politician said it "isn't what good neighbours do".

Last month, Singapore's tourism board and culture ministry referred to the economic benefits brought by Swift's concerts around the world due to her popularity, and said the ministry had worked with concert promoter AEG Presents to get Swift to perform in Singapore.

Image: Taylor Swift on stage at Sydney's Accor Stadium last month. Credit: Dave Greselin.

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