Exclusive Taylor Swift deal? Hong Kong must be ‘relentless’ in luring music stars, John Lee says amid reports of Singapore concert arrangement
“We know well they will bring tremendous economic benefits and help boost Hong Kong’s image and attractiveness.”
Hong Kong leader John Lee says big effort needed to draw star performers to city
Lee stopped short of explaining his administration’s strategies, saying its efforts would vary depending on the “actual circumstances”.
Mega acts such as Taylor Swift, Coldplay and The 1975 have all skipped the city on tours which include places such as Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.
Global news outlets on Sunday revealed the supposed offering of an exclusive deal, citing Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin who said Swift concert promoter Anschutz Entertainment Group informed him of a proposed arrangement, worth up to US$3 million, between the company and the Singaporean government.
The deal purportedly stated that the American singer-songwriter would not be able to perform in any Asean country other than Singapore.
Hong Kong is not part of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) trade bloc.
Pop icon Swift will perform at six sold-out shows at Singapore’s 55,000-seat National Stadium next month as part of her Eras Tour.
The Hong Kong government has been touting the city’s mega-event economy, with Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah saying on Monday that it was set to surpass pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year.
But recent government-backed mega events have been caught up in controversies.
Earlier this month, Argentine football star Lionel Messi sat out a game played in Hong Kong, leaving tens of thousands of fans outraged and confused.
The organiser had applied for HK$16 million (US$2 million) in government sponsorship, but later withdrew its application amid the controversy over Messi failing to play.
Hong Kong to attract more top acts such as Taylor Swift, Beyoncé: tourism chief
On Monday, the football legend released a two-minute video on mainland Chinese social media, saying speculation that politics was involved was totally unfounded and that he hoped to meet his Chinese fans in person again.
Earlier this week, the government revealed that it contributed about HK$7.8 million (US$997,285) to an open-air art installation of giant heart-shaped balloons displayed around the city, sparking calls for more transparency to ensure taxpayer money was well spent.
Lee on Tuesday said Hong Kong welcomed 1.4 million tourists during the eight days around the Lunar New Year holiday this month, with 87 per cent coming from the mainland.
He predicted that growth in visitor numbers would continue this year, pledging to ramp up capacity for the tourism sector by addressing bottlenecks in transport, aviation and catering.
Lee also said it was “normal” for the number of outgoing trips by Hongkongers during the recent Lunar New Year holiday period to surpass that of incoming journeys by tourists, attributing it to post-Covid “revenge” travel and the deepened integration between the city and the mainland.