Singapore prime minister defends exclusive deal with Taylor Swift that riles some neighbors
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has defended an exclusive deal his city-state struck with Taylor Swift that prevents the pop star taking her current Eras Tour to anywhere else in Southeast Asia
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday defended an exclusive deal his city-state struck with Taylor Swift that prevents the pop star taking her current Eras Tour to anywhere else in Southeast Asia.
Swift is performing six concerts from March 2 to 9 in Singapore under an exclusive deal that has been criticized by some Southeast Asian neighbors who complain they have been deprived of the tourist boom that her concerts have brought elsewhere.
Lee confirmed that Swift was provided with “certain incentives” from a government fund established to rebuild tourism industry after COVID-19 disruptions to make Singapore her only Southeast Asian destination. He did not say how much the deal cost.
He said he did not regard the deal as unfriendly toward his neighbors in the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
