SINGAPORE struck a deal with American pop superstar Taylor Swift to make the Republic her only South-east Asian stop on her world tour, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday (Mar 5) as he defended the government’s decision to award a grant to make this possible.

“Our agencies negotiated an arrangement with her to come to Singapore and perform, and to make Singapore her only stop in South-east Asia,” said Lee at a joint press conference in Melbourne alongside his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.

“A deal was reached. And so it has turned out to be a very successful arrangement. I don’t see that as being unfriendly. Sometimes one country makes a deal, sometimes another country does,” he said in response to a question by the Australian media.

He added: “If that is what needed to be done to get an outcome which is mutually beneficial, and which from Singapore’s point of view, serves not just to grow the economy, but also to bring in visitors and goodwill from all over the region, I don’t see why not.”

Lee revealed that the grant given to Swift’s promoter came from the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) Tourism Development Fund.

In Budget 2024, a S$300 million top-up was provided to the latest tranche of the fund to facilitate the country’s post-pandemic tourism recovery.

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Swift is currently in town for her Eras Tour. She has already performed three of her six scheduled concerts at the National Stadium, which has seen over 300,000 tickets sold. The remaining shows are on Mar 7, 8 and 9.

“If we had not made such an arrangement, would she have come to someplace else in South-east Asia or more places in South-east Asia? Maybe, maybe not,” said Lee.

On Monday, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said in Parliament that the grant amount that was reported was “not accurate and not anywhere as high as speculated”. He did not disclose the size of the grant, citing business confidentiality.

Addressing further questions on the issue in Parliament on Tuesday, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan said STB has been supporting leisure events through grants since 1998, with “thorough assessments” of the expected benefits.

These include the qualitative and quantitative benefits of any proposed event, such as its ability to drive foreign visitorship and tourism receipts; incorporate unique and innovative programming; and profile Singapore as a vibrant and appealing destination, said Tan.

“These events are also expected to create value by generating more business for our companies here, adding to Singapore’s vibrancy and also amplifying Singapore’s global brand and international stature,” he added.

People’s Action Party MP Don Wee had asked what STB considers in deciding to disburse grants, while Workers’ Party (WP) MP Gerald Giam asked when this practice began.

Giam also asked for the total grants given for events in 2024; how many tourists these are expected to attract; and the estimated benefits to Singapore’s economy.

Tan did not give specific figures, but said that for leisure events that STB has supported, international visitors made up 25 to 30 per cent of total attendees on average.

He added that STB has supported events such as the inaugural Olympic Esports Week last year; gamescom asia, for two years running; Sneaker Con South-east Asia 2024; Anime Festival Asia 2024; SG Comic Con 2024; HSBC Rugby Sevens and the HSBC Women’s World Championship golf tournament.

In a supplementary question, WP MP Jamus Lim asked about the potential negative effects on foreign relations if Singapore was seen as taking more than its fair share. He asked if STB would work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other agencies to manage the potential fallout.

Tan said that as Singapore is a connectivity hub, the region and its neighbours benefit, too.

“If you take a step back, when visitors come from outside the region to Singapore, there is also attendant benefits, because then they go and visit other tourist sites around the region,” he said.