KUALA LUMPUR – Veteran Philippine lawmaker Joey Salceda has demanded that the Foreign Affairs Department (DFA) seek an explanation from the Singapore embassy regarding grants used to secure exclusive rights for Taylor Swift’s sold-out Eras Tour.
Salceda, who is representing Albay 2nd district, said he has asked for DFA to send a note verbale as Singapore’s move “isn’t what good neighbours do”.
(A note verbale is an unsigned diplomatic note of the nature of a memorandum, written in the third person.)
This comes after the Singapore Tourism Board and the republic’s Culture, Community and Youth Ministry (MCCY) admitted to providing millions in grants to production company AEG Presents, which is managing Swift’s global tour.
“Some US$3 million in grants were allegedly given by the Singapore government to AEG to host the concert in Singapore. The catch was that they do not host it elsewhere in the region,” Salceda was quoted as saying yesterday by the Philippine media.
“I give it to them that the policy worked. Regional demand for Singaporean hotels and airlines was up 30% over the period. I estimate that the exclusivity term caused an increase in industry revenues of US$60 million. So, the grant produced 30 times more in economic activity.
“But it was at the expense of neighbouring countries, which could not attract their own foreign concert goers, and whose fans had to go to Singapore. I doubt the exclusivity terms were on the grant contract itself.
“I don’t think we should just let things like this pass. We should still officially register our opposition. It also runs contrary to the principle of consensus-based relations and solidarity on which the Asean was founded.
“So, I think the DFA should send a note verbale to our counterparts in Singapore. Our countries are good friends. That’s why actions like that hurt,” he added.
Earlier, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin revealed that Swift would not be performing in the kingdom as Singapore secured exclusive rights to ensure she only brought her concert to the island nation and not anywhere else in Southeast Asia.
Swift is to perform on March 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9 in Singapore.
Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil was asked if Putrajaya would emulate Singapore, to which he said the government does not allocate any funds to concert organisers to obtain exclusive rights to performances here.
However, Fahmi said the Tourism, Arts, and Culture Ministry could propose to implement this, subject to the cabinet’s discussion and approval. – February 29, 2024