Edwin Tong on grants and subsidies issued to pop singer Taylor Swift

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said the Government saw the Taylor Swift concert as an opportunity to make it a uniquely Singapore experience. In Parliament on Monday (Mar 4), he however added that grants alone will not decide where a performer goes. Promoters of top artistes will do their own calculation and assess where they want to perform and for how long. Mr Tong said one major consideration is the location. There are many reasons why world-class artistes choose to host large-scale concerts in Singapore. These include Singapore’s strategic location and diverse cultural offerings. He said Singapore will need to continue investing in infrastructure and software to continue attracting entertainment, lifestyle and sporting events into Singapore. On the grant, Mr Tong said that due to business confidentiality, the size of the grant cannot be revealed. He gave the assurance that the economic benefits have been assessed to be significant and outweigh the size of the grant. Mr Tong was replying to MP’s questions.