Philippine lawmaker wants probe on Taylor Swift’s Singapore-only concert deal: ‘not what good neighbours do’
- Lawmaker Joey Salceda says Manila should not ‘just let things like this pass’ and that it should ‘register its opposition’ to Singapore
- Other regional politicians have also commented on the deal that supposedly states Singapore is the only Southeast Asian stop for Swift’s concerts
Calling Singapore’s move “not what good neighbours do”, Joey Salceda, who serves on the Philippine House of Representatives, asked the country’s Department of Foreign Affairs to seek an explanation on the deal from the Singaporean embassy.
The deal is said to contain a condition that Singapore would be the only stop on the Southeast Asian leg of Swift’s hugely popular Eras Tour.
“Some [US$3 million] in grants were allegedly given by the Singapore government to [concert promoter AEG] to host the concert in Singapore,” Salceda said. “The catch was that they do not host it elsewhere in the region.”
Swift arrived in Singapore on Wednesday ahead of her six sold-out concerts at the 55,000-seat National Stadium, the first of which will start this Saturday. More than 300,000 Swift fans, popularly known as “Swifties”, are expected to attend the concerts.