Singapore’s grant for Taylor Swift concerts ‘nowhere as high’ as speculated, minister says

It is “nowhere as high” as reports have suggested, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said in an interview on Friday.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was quoted as saying last month that Singapore had brokered a deal to pay the pop star up to US$3 million for each of her six concerts – in exchange for keeping the shows exclusive to Singapore in Southeast Asia.

CNA understands the figure is closer to US$2 million to US$3 million in total for all six shows.

Srettha said he had heard about the arrangement from concert promoter AEG. The company has not responded to CNA’s repeated requests for comment.

On February 20, the Singapore Tourism Board said it “supported the event through a grant”, but did not reveal the size of the grant or any conditions attached to it.

Tong said on Friday that concert promoters know “exactly what they’re doing” when they choose where to hold shows and where not to.

“What I’ll say is this: The numbers that you see online – it is nowhere as high as what is being speculated.”

He added that he will speak more about this in parliament next Monday.

“With every promoter, they make their own calculations,” Tong said. “They decide whether they want to come, how many nights they want to come, where else they want to go.

“The truth of the matter is [it’s] not just about a grant or a deal, but the overall package.”

He added that the promoters are experienced and know exactly what they want out of a venue, and there are factors that Singapore cannot control.

“They have to assess whether or not the overall package in Singapore is good enough for them to want to play here, and for how many nights,” the minister said.

Swift will be playing six sold-out shows in Singapore, her only stop in Asia, aside