Taylor Swift adds to Singapore concert frenzy with more shows

AMERICAN pop idol Taylor Swift added three more nights to her Singapore tour early next year, matching British rockers Coldplay who are set to perform six shows in January.

Ms. Swift’s concert organizers announced the doubling of shows on Sunday — before sales of tickets for her first three performances in March even started. Limited pre-sales for cardholders of a local bank begin July 5, while the general public get their chance two days later.

Singapore is Ms. Swift’s only Southeast Asian stop of her Eras Tour. The extra nights follow a similar pattern as Coldplay last week added concerts in Singapore after “overwhelming demand” for their initial four nights. Both new dates sold out in less than three hours and concert promoter Live Nation hinted at the possibility of additional ticket releases.

The concert fever is helping to re-heat the MICE — meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions — sector that’s a boon for the host-happy city-state. And it’s had local politicians excited about the knock-on benefits in a post-COVID economy.

Some of Ms. Swift’s young fans beseeched Education Minister Chan Chun Sing to declare a school holiday on her concert days in Singapore.

“I hear you,” Mr. Chan wrote on Facebook Friday. “How about this? If any creative and enterprising fan can invite her (or any other A listers just to be fair) to your school to perform free of charge, we can have your school declare a school holiday?! Then everyone gets to enjoy this inclusive concert!” — Bloomberg