Sports Hub scores big in landing Taylor Swift, Coldplay gigs but community events also vital

The_King · June 27, 2023

SINGAPORE — Getting international superstars such as Taylor Swift and Coldplay to perform here for six days each is certainly no mean feat for tiny Singapore. However, the true success of the Singapore Sports Hub will be whether the profits generated from these international acts can be funnelled towards more community events that all members of the public can enjoy.

Speaking to TODAY, business and tourism experts said there have been signs that the number of community events at the Singapore Sports Hub have been ramping up, but they hope for more events in the future — and in different formats.

This is so that the Singapore Sports Hub can be a place where people go not just to watch performances or sports events as audience members but may also become participants themselves.

The experts and observers also said it is likely that the Government played its part in negotiating and securing an unprecedented number of shows for the big names, especially for the Taylor Swift concerts, with Singapore being the only destination in Southeast Asia.

However, they also said that there were other factors at play, such as Singapore’s status as an entertainment hub and being able to attract big names, and the demand for such acts in the region being higher now due to pent-up demand from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Their comments came after Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, said last Saturday (June 24) that since the Government took over the reins at the hub, the team has brought in world-class events including Taylor Swift’s only stopover in Southeast Asia.

The Singapore Sports Hub had first announced past midnight on Wednesday (June 21) that Taylor Swift would be performing for three nights in March next year, before concert promoter AEG announced on Sunday that it was adding three more shows due to “overwhelming response”.

Just recently, high demand for Coldplay tickets for six shows here meant that there were people who were unhappy that they could not get tickets due to strong demand from fans in the region.

Coldplay was originally scheduled to perform for four nights in January 2024, before concert organiser Live Nation Singapore, added two more nights — one after another in quick succession — due to the demand.

GOVERNMENT’S KEY ROLE

Insiders who spoke to TODAY said that the Government likely had a key role in securing the sheer number of shows that Singapore did with the big acts.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a former executive at Sports Hub Private Limited (SHPL), the private consortium which owned the venue before the Government takeover, said that the management during his time would be able to secure the same acts, but likely would not have been able to secure as many shows as the Government had.

“Some credit has to go to the Government… SHPL alone would not have been able or willing to make the commitments — financial or other guarantees — needed for the (six) nights of Coldplay or Taylor Swift,” he added.

“The risks for more than two nights would be too great.”

The risks at that time included reputation risks should there be any venue problems such as poor sound quality, or risks of being unable to fulfil contract obligations.

It is particularly remarkable, he noted, that Taylor Swift is making Singapore one of her two stops in Asia — the other being Japan — and that most acts will want to go to more destinations in the region to appease multiple fan bases.

He said that a “sweet deal” was likely made between the Government and the concert organiser for them to want to be here for so many nights.

Professor Lawrence Loh, director of the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore, said that the above risks in getting the big names to perform for many nights here is more justifiable to the Government compared to private-sector entities.

This is because the Government's aims are not only about making profits, but also in driving tourism, for instance, and promoting Singapore as an entertainment hub.

“The Singapore Sports Hub now has the flexibility to take on a range of objectives that goes beyond being profit-driven,” Prof Loh said.

“If you hold an international entertainment event, we put Singapore as a global destination for overseas travellers, which will add to the tourism impact on the Singapore economy, which will benefit the locals.”

He added that these are objectives that the private sector does not have the flexibility to consider.

The Sports Hub is now managed by Kallang Alive Sport Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kallang Alive Holding Co, which was incorporated by national sports agency Sport Singapore (SportSG).

OTHER FACTORS

Although the Government likely had a hand in attracting Coldplay and Taylor Swift to perform here, the main factors that the performers look at are the demand that the region has for their shows, as well as Singapore’s track record in hosting such events in the past, the analysts said.

Economist Song Seng Wun from CIMB Bank said that due to the pause on international concerts in this region over the past three pandemic-laden years, the demand for them has been stronger than ever.

“Obviously, pent-up demand can only be met if people have the means and money to pay for the not-cheap tickets.”

He added that compared to other countries in the region, people in Singapore have proven that they have the higher spending power for concert organisers to accrue the biggest profits.

Agreeing, Mr Christopher Khoo, managing director of tourism consultancy MasterConsult Services, said that Singapore sticks out of the crowd because of its excellent facilities and central location.

It has hosted many events in the past under various private-sector organisers and it has been imprinted upon foreign acts that the country is a reliable place to perform, above other neighbouring countries.

This status did not come overnight, but happened over the last two to three decades when Singapore progressively established itself as an entertainment hub in the region, Mr Khoo added.

“We’ve done the right things in the past, and things have come to fruition now.”

THE TRUE MARKER OF SUCCESS

The analysts said that although it is important to attract foreign acts and host international events here, another test of the Singapore Sports Hub’s success would be in whether it can use the profits gained from these sold-out shows to fund community events that can get Singaporeans together.

During a ministerial statement on the Government’s Singapore Sports Hub takeover last year, Mr Tong had pledged to hold more affordable community events and school games at the venue, adding that the Government will ensure that as many community spaces as possible are open and are free for all to use.

Giving an update on the community events hosted at the venue earlier this month, Mr Tong said that the Government is “ramping up our engagement with the community” by providing greater access to the venue through family-friendly community events.

This included the Stadium Waterfront Carnival earlier in February and the Celebrate Hari Raya@Stadium Roar event, which took place at the end of April.

He added that in sports, the venue has hosted a record number of 42 school sports finals for the National School Games this year.

The analysts said that they have observed a ramp-up in the number of community events being organised at the hub.

Mr Marc Lim, a sports consultant and former journalist, said that for the previous management, there was some inertia to host community events due to the lack of profitability.

“Not to say that there wasn’t anything like that before, it was quite rare… it took some convincing for the previous management to do community events there,” he added.

“The real benefit from the Government takeover (is) that you make money from all the ticketed events, and all these other community events can be subsidised."

The analysts hope that more community or domestic sports events can be hosted alongside or close to international events.

Mr Lim noted that, for example, right after the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens tournament was held at the hub, the National School Games rugby finals took place there.

“Because of these bigger events, you see the trickle-down benefits of the smaller events,” he said. “It has to be a place where the community can congregate, and it’s not just a playground for the rich to see their favourite football stars or artistes.”

Going forward, there should also be a good mix between a spectator-based and participation-based approach, Prof Loh said.

Right now, many of the events at the Singapore Sports Hub are spectator-based, he noted.

These include the large concert events and football matches.

Instead, events such as a marathon that finishes at the Singapore Sports Hub can be considered, to allow more people to “participate rather than spectate” in events within the venue.

“Maybe a day will come where we designate one day (where) we open up the whole hub with many types of sports available to people in Singapore, young and old,” Prof Loh added.

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/taylor-swift-coldplay-singapore-sports-hub-community-events-2199631