Mr. Edwin Tong, Singapore’s Minister of Culture, Community and Youth, and a number of high-ranking officials went to the US to “lobby” in exchange for an exclusive performance by Taylor Swift.

According to Yahoo, Mr. Edwin Tong, Minister of Culture, Community and Youth, and a number of senior Singaporean officials flew to Los Angeles, USA to negotiate a deal for Taylor Swift to perform exclusively in the lion island nation during the year. Southeast Asia region.

The flight to the US to meet representatives of the show’s organizers and Taylor Swift was planned in advance by senior Singaporean officials. “We saw the opportunity, negotiated quickly and completed the deal neatly,” said Mr. Edwin Tong.

After Toronto, Canada and California, America in the long leg of the Eras Tour, Mr. Edwin Tong asked Taylor Swift to choose Singapore as the last stop for the Asia-Pacific leg.

Singapore’s Ministry of Culture planned to invite Taylor Swift to perform exclusively in Southeast Asia a year ago.

“Of course, if the demand is great, we have to spend heavily. And we have done it,” Mr. Edwin Tong added.

Singapore’s Minister of Culture, Community and Youth said plans to invite Taylor Swift to perform exclusively from February 2023. The authorities coordinated with many large entertainment companies and many leaders in the sports and entertainment industry to discuss when they saw that the female singer had the potential to stimulate tourism and economic growth for Singapore.

Regarding the cost of holding Taylor Swift’s concert in Singapore, Edwin Tong said he would share detailed information at a meeting before Parliament.

The Singapore government’s “Taylor Swift monopoly” move in Southeast Asia is being criticized by neighboring countries. Mr. Srettha Thavisin, Prime Minister of Thailand, said the Singapore government offered a subsidy of up to 3 million USD for the female singer to refuse to perform in other countries, including Korea.

The Singapore Tourism Board and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth later confirmed the “subsidy” information but did not specify the number.

In other developments, Mr. Joey Salceda, congressman from Albay province (Philippines) asked the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to object to the subsidy that the Singapore Government authorized in exchange for exclusive agreement with Taylor Swift.

“That is not what a good neighbor does,” Mr. Salceda declared. The Filipino politician also said that Singapore’s move was detrimental to diplomatic relations with Manila.

Currently, Taylor Swift performing exclusively in Singapore in Southeast Asia is said to bring great economic benefits to this country. The 6-day tour in the Lion Island nation sold 300,000 tickets. The concert created an exciting week for Singapore, with hotel rooms expected to be sold out and airline tickets expensive as audiences flocked from all over.