2024-03-02 07:09:39
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The Eras Tour, a concert tour in Singapore, has “Swifties”, the word for Taylor Swift’s fans, flying in from all over Asia to see them.
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This week in the modern nation of Asia, Singapore. Welcoming music fans from many Asian countries. To come see the Eras Tour concert of Taylor Swift, a world-famous female singer.
Shiny accessories were brought out. The limousine was wiped down to make it shine. Pillows in the hotel are provided for visitors.
Being the only ASEAN nation to host a concert by this famous pop singer It comes with a cost that Singapore must pay.
It was previously reported that Singapore has paid subsidies totaling approximately 24 million Singapore dollars, or more than 640 million baht, in exchange for being the only ASEAN nation where Taylor Swift has performed six concerts.
Edwin Tong, Minister of Culture told Channel News Asia (CNA) that the money figure had never been this high before. But declined to say the exact amount. But CNA estimates it at 2 million Singapore dollars, or more than 53 million baht, for all six performances.
Questions about how much subsidy Singapore is paying? It comes after Thai Prime Minister Settha Thavisin revealed that Singapore pays concert organizers around 2-3 million US dollars per night, or around 71-100 million baht.
Revelation of Thai leaders Causing criticism in Asian countries Philippine lawmakers criticized the matter, saying: “This is not what good neighbors do,” and called for a formal protest against Singapore.
Meanwhile, the governments of many nations are in a state of anger. It was the fans who paid the price for this.
Taylor Swift’s songs have been played throughout Southeast Asia. From the alleys of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Arrive in a taxi in Bangkok, Thailand.
Organizing six concerts in the most expensive city in the region. It may shock many people. because of the past Singapore currency It is one of the strongest currencies in Asia. It has been an obstacle to traveling to Singapore for a long time. But many fans are fighting the odds for the chance to meet their idol singers.
Efforts from fans from many nations
Many of the flights were accompanied by Swift fans. touched down at Singapore’s Changi Airport throughout the past week. Most of them come from China. and various administrative regions of China
When not performing in China Singapore is therefore one of the best choices for music fans from China.
One female fan from Shenzhen told the BBC: She and her friend paid S$1,200 each for concert tickets, and opted to stay at a friend’s house in Singapore instead. Because hotel costs are much more expensive during this period.
And Singapore’s most luxurious landmark, the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, has sold out the Taylor Swift package worth S$50,000. 4 VIP concert tickets and 3 nights in a suite
But on the other side, Allen Danga, a 22-year-old music fan from the Philippines Keep a small percentage of your wages from overtime work. To bring myself and my mother to Singapore.
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Performances in Sao Paulo, Brazil
last Thursday He and his mother took a four-hour bus ride to the airport in Manila. They slept in an airport motel for one night. before boarding the earliest morning flight the next day
This school-age music fan from the Philippines Bought a travel package since July of last year and purchased concert tickets on the night of the resale or resale opening. After searching for many weeks
“I’m very lucky,” he said of the 400 Singapore dollar (about 10,670 baht) concert ticket he got.
“The seller was kind and not overly aggressive.”
Resale card prices are now reaching thousands of Singapore dollars. And he almost fell victim to a ticket scam. at a later time The seller was caught and reported online.
He estimated that The total cost of attending the concert was about 2,000 Singapore dollars (about 53,300 baht), which is equivalent to the monthly income of an upper-middle-class family in the Philippines. A country where 1 in 5 people live below the poverty line.
“Right now I am still a student working part-time. And I can earn money to spend on things I want and need. But sadly, other ‘Swifties’ (Taylor Swift’s term for fans) don’t have the means or money to travel overseas to see her perform. And I know Swifty in the Philippines, love you very much.”
The Philippines is probably Taylor Swift’s biggest fan base. Data from music streaming service Spotify suggests that Quezon City in Manila The singer’s music was streamed the most last year.
This pop star singer He has performed concerts in the Philippines before. But analysts think that with huge amounts of money from Singapore There is no doubt how sweet the deal will be.
Singapore, which is considered a modern country The city is clean. It is a country in Southeast Asia that has hosted many world-class events. from the readiness of the infrastructure transportation connection There is also a large group of foreign workers with high incomes.
Singapore is also seen as a country with reliable political stability. Among other nations in Southeast Asia which have experienced political turmoil About ten years ago, Taylor Swift canceled a concert in Thailand. Because there was a military coup and protests.
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Taylor Swift-themed fountain and light show at Singapore’s Marina Bay During the concert week
However, while it is common practice for governments around the world to provide subsidies and tax breaks to fund their activities, the figures Singapore paid out are It is beyond open recognition in Singapore.
Samer Hajjar, a professor of marketing at the National University of Singapore, said the figure was “above average” even for Singapore.
Danga, a 22-year-old music fan from the Philippines, sees that with a large fan base Paying subsidies like this seems like an act. He is “rather greedy” but sees it as Singapore’s ingenuity. “Because the economic return that will be returned is likely to be greater.”
But will it be like that?
Bring us the money.
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour concert in Australia. Previously, Australian authorities It was revealed that the concerts drove spending of A$145 million. More than 570,000 tickets were sold for the seven shows in Sydney and Melbourne. That’s nearly twice as many as the six shows in Singapore.
However, economists point out that not all money is counted.
Dr Brendan Rinne, chief economist at audit firm KPMG, estimates that up to 90% of concertgoers may be Australians themselves, so the money flowing during concert tours will only be Money that is simply changed from one type of spending to another. or even using savings to spend
Money is calculated only from foreign tourists. The people who came to see the concert accounted for 2% of the foreigners who came in. When calculating Taylor Swift’s concert alone generated A$10 million in economic growth for Australia.
However, from the official confirmation to the BBC Australia does not use public funds to subsidize concerts in the country. including Japan which does not pay subsidies either
Previously, Singapore stated that The Taylor Swift concert will bring economic benefits to the country. But the net figure to be gained is not clear. The BBC contacted the Singapore Tourism Board. But the agency declined to reveal the number of foreigners coming during this period.
However, Maybank in Singapore It is estimated that approximately 350 million Singapore dollars will be spent, or more than 9,337 million baht, but it is estimated based on calculations that 70% of concertgoers were foreigners coming to Singapore.
When compared to big events like The Singapore Formula One Grand Prix saw foreign attendance account for 49% of all visitors in 2022, or 300,000 spectators.
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Singapore’s Formula One Grand Prix attracts thousands of international visitors each year.
When asked how many foreign tourists would be accounted for, Erica Tay, an economist at Maybank, said: It was stated that it could not be estimated in numbers, but the number of 70% was based on the potential that Singapore could support. And the bank has not analyzed the net profit in this case.
“Six concerts may not significantly drive the country’s economic growth. But Taylor’s strategic value Swift towards Singapore as a tourism destination is higher than a single economic stimulus.”
However, Professor Julian Kayla, a business academic from Nanyang Technological University, said the use of public funds should be monitored. Especially when this People know from the disclosures of other countries’ governments.
and for countries where the welfare of the people is quite limited This subsidy may be viewed as wasteful spending.
“Spending S$24 million (reportedly) on something that appears frivolous. It may seem insignificant to the economic health of a country. More than spending on citizens and public services… There is a conflict at this point,” Prof. Kayla said.
On the other hand, this academic and others view that when it comes to government tourism plans, The government has a mandate to spend money on this. And Singapore is no exception.
“They don’t necessarily advertise it. But the moment the government sees that something is suitable for the long-term strategy, The government will spend money to support that.”
In a way, in the case of the Taylor Swift concert, Singapore is taking a similar approach to attracting major multinational companies to the country.
“What’s different here is that Taylor Swift is a business, but it’s a very emotionally driven business,” the business scholar said.
“It works with the emotions of 10-18 year olds who are sad about not being able to see a concert in Bangkok. or Jakarta”
In the end Similar to Taylor Swift’s song “Bad blood”, this story caused a lot of dissatisfaction.
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