Taylor Swift could help boost Singapore's image as a cool place
It is the thing every mother of a teenage girl dreads. Taylor Swift is coming to your city—and you don’t have tickets. I scoured high and low for what has become a precious commodity in Singapore these days, without success: They had all been snapped up in a buying frenzy for The Eras Tour last year.
The going rate on the resale market is anywhere between Singapore $3,000 (US $2,253 i.e.) to above $5,000. Luxury VIP packages can go up to $50,000 in Singapore’s currency. You would think with six shows—in a stadium that holds 55,000 in a city of under 6 million people—that it would be possible to get a couple of tickets.
Surely not every 13-year-old is attending the event? But that’s precisely the point. Swift’s performances are attracting thousands to Singapore, including fans from Southeast Asia and beyond. It’s not just the Queen of Pop.
From Coldplay to Seinfeld to Ed Sheeran and even the Broadway musical Hamilton, it feels like every major act is coming to the Lion City in the post-Covid era. Visitors are thronging to these events, so much so that locals, irate at having lost out on tickets, have proposed that sales should be prioritized for citizens. The entertainment industry is gearing up for a bumper year.
Tourist arrivals are also recovering, reaching about 80% of pre-pandemic levels. The concerts have revitalized its reputation, according to Lau Kong Cheen, associate professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. “It makes us look like a modern, open-minded and vibrant place," he told me.
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