Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour came to Singapore for six shows in March. Thanks to an exclusivity deal the city-state’s government struck with concert promoters, those were the tour’s only stops in Southeast Asia. Other nations in the region were not pleased with this arrangement, which left them on the outside looking in as Singapore profited from the pop mega-star’s presence. As CNN reported at the time, Filipino lawmaker Joey Salceda said Singapore’s bargain with Swift was not “what good neighbors do.”
Now leaders in the Philippines are taking matters into their own hands. As Philstar reports, at the “Build Better More” Infrastructure Forum in Manila today, Clark International Airport and Corp. announced plans to complete a “Taylor Swift concert ready” stadium by 2028. The stadium, billed as a public-private partnership, will be located within walking distance of the Clark International Airport in Pampanga, part of the New Clark City development.
“The design and build plans for the Clark Entertainment Center must attract musical events of world-renowned artists, including the likes of Taylor Swift,” Clark’s Augusto Sanchez wrote in an email to Philstar. At the event, in mixed English and Filipino, he said, “I hope by the time when we build our complex, we are ready to host her [Taylor] because the Philippines has always been a music-loving industry. Whenever there are international concerts it’s a hit especially with Clark, very easy. The airport is just there.”
One snag in this plan: Will Swift still be touring in 2028? Seems like she will probably be running for president or something by then, yeah?