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Govt considering action against those who leaked confidential info on S’pore’s Taylor Swift deal: Edwin Tong

Taylor Swift fans outside the Singapore National Stadium on March 2, 2024.

Taylor Swift fans outside the Singapore National Stadium on March 2, 2024.

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  • A confidentiality clause was included in the contract for Taylor Swift's shows in Singapore, said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong in Parliament on Monday (March 4)
  • The Government is considering taking action against those who leaked information about the deal
  • Mr Tong added that the Sports Hub aims to be “more than simply a venue for hire”

SINGAPORE —  A confidentiality clause was included in the contract for Taylor Swift's shows in Singapore, and the Government is now mulling "appropriate measures" since some details of the deals were leaked, said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong on Monday (March 4).

Mr Tong was responding to a question from Nominated Member of Parliament Usha Chandradas who asked whether there was a confidentiality clause in the American singer's contract with Singapore and, if so, whether the Government will take action against those who breached it.

She noted that the news of Swift striking a deal to make Singapore the only Southeast Asian stop on her Eras Tour has “struck a nerve” with some of the city-state’s neighbours.

Without mentioning any names, Mr Tong said the Government will assess the terms of the contract and will take “appropriate measures under advisement”. 

Last month, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was quoted as saying that Singapore had brokered a deal to pay the pop star up to US$3 million (S$4.04 million) for each of her six concerts — in exchange for keeping the shows exclusive to Singapore in Southeast Asia.

According to Mr Srettha, concert promoter Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) had informed him of the arrangement. TODAY reached out to AEG on Feb 19 to ask if there was indeed an exclusive deal made with Swift and how much she was paid per show. 

AEG did not respond to those queries. 

On Feb 20, the authorities confirmed that they had given a grant to help bring the Swift concert to Singapore, though they stopped short of confirming if an exclusive deal was struck.

It was later reported by CNA that the figure is closer to US$2 million to US$3 million in total for all six shows.

TODAY again reached out to AEG on Monday to also ask if it was the source of information for what Mr Srettha said on Swift's exclusive deal with Singapore. 

Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Mr Tong also said that the goal of Kallang Alive Sport Management (KASM), which manages the Singapore Sports Hub, is to be “more than simply a venue for hire”.

“Our aim is to bring a whole spectrum of events to Kallang for Singaporeans — from top-tier marquee events to community-related ones; from music concerts to sporting as well as social events.” 

He said that since the Government took over, the Sports Hub has seen a 30 per cent increase in sports, entertainment, and community and lifestyle event days from 2019.

Besides bringing in world-class acts such as Swift, Coldplay and Mayday, Mr Tong said KASM has brought in marquee sporting events and has a team dedicated to organising more free community sporting events.

For example, Sports Hub hosted a record 43 National School Games finals in 2023, compared with 16 before the pandemic, he said.

"While we cover a range of top-tier events that are ticketed, there is also a range of non-ticketed and non-revenue generating events, such as the large-scale festivals during Chinese New Year, last year for Hari Raya and Deepavali," he said.

“This ensures that we have a strong social return by providing programmes for everyone to bond, interact and build affinity with the Sports Hub."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of the article quoted Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong stating that Kallang Alive Sport Management brought in acts including Mayday Parade. This is incorrect, it should be the Taiwanese band Mayday. We are sorry for the error.

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