[wendychan]

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/c...kasm-chief

[wendychan]

n early 2023, a team from Singapore flew to Los Angeles to meet leaders from the sports and entertainment world, as American pop star Taylor Swift was about to embark on her United States tour.

At the time, no international venues had been confirmed for the superstar’s The Eras Tour run.

A few months later, the Singapore team, working with concert promoter Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), promised to “deliver Asia” to Swift, thus setting in motion a deal for an unprecedented six-day run of concerts at the National Stadium in Singapore – the only South-east Asian stop of her tour.

The Singapore dates were announced in June 2023.

Swift will hold six shows at the 60,000-capacity venue from March 2 to 9. More than 300,000 tickets have been sold for the concerts in Singapore, with a large number of fans travelling in from South-east Asia and the rest of the world.

“KASM (Kallang Alive Sport Management) initiated the idea (for the tour to come to Singapore) and led the discussions... We were the proactive ‘tip of the spear’ for the Government in these discussions that were had,” said KASM chairman Keith Magnus, speaking to The Straits Times on Feb 23.

“Once the discussion had progressed and we saw the opportunity of holding an only-in-Singapore event, we then thought it made sense to take a whole-of-government approach and brought in other relevant agencies to really have Team Singapore bringing in Team Taylor.”

Mr Magnus took over the corporate entity established by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and Sport Singapore to manage the $1.33 billion facility in Kallang in December 2022.

When asked if an exclusivity clause was baked into the agreement with Swift’s team, he said there was “certainly an understanding that it was an only-in-Singapore event, (and) that’s how it was branded”.

On Feb 16, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said he was informed by AEG that the Singapore Government offered subsidies of up to US$3 million (S$4 million) for each concert – in exchange for Swift agreeing not to perform elsewhere in South-east Asia during The Eras Tour.

The Singapore Tourism Board and MCCY then issued a joint statement saying that the upcoming concerts got the support of the authorities in the form of a grant, but stopped short of saying how much was pumped in.

When pressed, Mr Magnus also did not elaborate on the specifics of the deal, nor the grant amount.

He is confident that moving ahead – whether a concert is a Singapore exclusive or otherwise – the Republic remains a draw for artistes.

Coldplay, for instance, played six shows in Singapore as part of its Music of the Spheres World Tour earlier in 2024, compared with two days in the Philippines and two days in Thailand.

“It’s now a proven model that if you are an artiste and you want to be in Asia to cater to the Asia fan base, you really just have to come to Singapore, play here,” he said.

He added that “fans are able and willing to travel to Singapore to have a great experience and participate not just in the concert, but a broader offering of what the country has to offer”.

[wendychan]

This Magnus guy....
son of Richard Magnus....

such a great man it seems when you read his praises after his death...

[wendychan]

Taylor Swift it seems loves money more than music and fans

[wendychan]

and the new golden boy is this Magnus guy,,,


millions of tax payers money spent and keep increasing GST etc n sucking us dry with tax this tax that

and how many FREE tickets being given? Israwan should be asking this question

[Alice Alicia]

It's just the usual business dealing & wheeling.
Early bird catch the worms.
Thai pm a sore loser.

[wendychan]

its about spenidng a shit load of tax payers money with zero transparencty

[grotesqueness]

its about spenidng a shit load of tax payers money with zero transparencty

aiyeah

ownself check ownself backside hole can spend 20 million on trump and kim jong un bisit to Singapore