LETTER FROM BANGKOK
"Swiftonomics" – the economic impact of the American pop star's concerts – is causing a stir in Southeast Asia (and a certain amount of jealousy). On March 9, the global super-idol completed a six-concert tour in Singapore, the last stop on the Asian leg of The Eras Tour, before resuming on May 9 in Paris.
Over 300,000 tickets were sold for the Singapore concerts. Economists estimate an injection of 300 to 500 million Singapore dollars (around €200 to €345 million) into the economy, roughly as much as her seven concerts in Australia (€330 million according to the National Australia Bank) and more than her four shows in Japan (€200 million) in February.
The city-state of 5.5 million inhabitants went all in to secure Swift's exclusive appearance in Southeast Asia, a region of 660 million inhabitants that stretches between India, China, and Australia, and includes 10 nations. Its government reportedly offered US$2-3 million per concert to the organizers in the form of "subsidies" to ensure she wouldn't sing anywhere else in the region, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin revealed on February 16, in Bangkok, at a forum aimed at attracting foreign investors to the country.
"If I had known this, I would have brought the shows to Thailand," he said. Thavisin said he had been informed by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), the American group managing the singer's tour. He had invited its representatives to government headquarters a few days earlier, and assured them that he, too, was ready to offer tax breaks and subsidies for "mega-concerts."
The Thai Prime Minister's revelations caused quite a stir in the region. In the Philippines, MP Joey Salceda accused Singapore of unfair competition. "I don’t think we should just let things like this pass," he said. "It also runs contrary to the principle of consensus-based relations and solidarity on which the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] was founded."
In Malaysia, the opposition criticized the alleged failure of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's government to follow up on discussions initiated in 2022 by the previous government with an AEG subsidiary to welcome Swift in Kuala Lumpur. An MP of the ruling coalition reacted by suggesting that PAS, the fundamentalist Islamic party that dominates the opposition, would have been "obsessed" with the artist's revealing outfits had she chosen to perform in Malaysia.
British band Coldplay, whose musicians openly defend the LGBT cause, had to promise to behave during a concert in Kuala Lumpur in November 2023 or risk having their power cut off mid-show.
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