Singapore:

Singapore said on Monday its government funding for Taylor Swift’s concerts in the city was far less than thought after media reports that the singer was paid millions of dollars per performance.
Some 300,000 people from Singapore and surrounding areas are expected to attend the six sold-out shows starting on March 2, but some neighbors are unhappy about being left out of The Eras Tour.

Some, including Thailand’s prime minister, reportedly said Swift was paid millions of dollars to prevent her from performing anywhere else in the region.

Singapore’s Culture Minister Edwin Tong told parliament: “There has been some speculation online about the size of the allocation. I can say that it is not accurate and it is not as high as the speculation.”

“For commercial confidentiality reasons we are unable to disclose the exact size of the grant or the terms of the grant.”

Tong added that “it is assessed that the economic benefits to Singapore are substantial and exceed the size of the grant”.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin reportedly said Singapore would pay Swift up to $3 million per concert if she did not perform elsewhere in Southeast Asia, citing concert organizers.

A Philippine lawmaker also criticized Singapore, reportedly saying it was not “what a good neighbor would do”.

Tang downplayed the role the grant might have played in convincing Swift to perform only in Singapore.

“It will be up to the sponsors of top artists to do their own calculations and evaluate where they want to perform and for how long,” he said, citing Singapore’s location and infrastructure as key factors.

Many top artists have performed in Singapore since the end of pandemic restrictions, including Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Blackpink and Harry Styles.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)