Infrastructure.
Ruben Pinatacan responded to a query (on Quora) about whether the Philippines could have hosted the Eras Tour:
"Regardless of the Singapore’s incentive to the promoter or organiser of the Eras Tour, the Philippines cannot afford to host the Taylor Swift concert because of the costs involved as well as lack of adequate infrastructure to hold the concert. Both Araneta Coliseum or the MOA Mall can only accommodate 9,600 spectators; while Melbourne is 96,000; Sydney is 86,000; Thailand is 51,000 and Singapore is 55,000. Where else the Philippines will hold the tour. The Eras Tour is not cheap after all. The economy is not good and in tatter; and poverty is prevalent all over the country. Just for a note, the Swifty tour in SEA started in Thailand in 2014, but for the coup it was cancelled. The Philippine organisers should have have woken up but for the money issues, they cannot afford. Salceda should wake up to reality that the government or the private organisers cannot afford the tour."
[Note: In the video below, Philippines does have a 55,000 seat venue, but lacks transport infrastructure to support it. When Coldplay performed in Manila, President Marcos had to take a helicopter to the concert because of gridlocked traffic. So, even if the claim that Philippines does not have a venue with the capacity is disputed, the other points in the response may still hold.]
He then answered another query about whether other countries could have hosted the Eras Tour, and considered other issues.
"But these countries have some caveats. In the case of Malaysia, the new Prime Minister was not keen of TS concert due to conservative Islamists of the country. In the case of Indonesia, the country’s capital is not apt for grab to perform the TS concert coupled with the extremist movement against Western values. As to Thailand, the TS concert was cancelled in 2014 due to the government coup d’état at that time.... As to the Philippines, it has no infrastructures needed to hold a sold out TS concert. The standard concert set up both in the Araneta Coliseum and MOA Arena each can accommodate only 9,600 spectators. As a note, TS concert is not cheap... these mentioned countries need government assistance both on peace and security as well as financial support as needed. Further note, the TS concert is a privately sponsored by promoters and organisers."
Being able to move large amounts of people in an efficient way is a key focus for the Swift tour, given all the sold-out shows.
The ease for fans to get to and from Singapore’s stadium complex contrasts with the traffic gridlock that greeted thousands of people trying to attend Coldplay concerts in Manila and Jakarta.
The Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr even took a helicopter to one of the Manila shows because the traffic was so bad.Zachery Rajendran, an integrated events management specialist at Singaporean educational institute Republic Polytechnic, also says a “stable and safe environment” and “cosmopolitan atmosphere” helped put Singapore above neighbouring countries.
Last year a Malaysian music festival was cancelled after two members of British band, The 1975, kissed on stage to make a point about the country’s laws criminalising homosexuality.
And in Jakarta, protesters cited Coldplay’s support for LGBT rights to try to have their concert cancelled last year, though it went ahead anyway.
In 2012, religious protesters successfully forced Lady Gaga to cancel a planned Jakarta show due to safety concerns.
0:25 Thailand: 6000 capacity venue open in Feb 2024. With plans to open a 5000 seat hall in June, and a 15,000 seat arena in 2026.
[Note: Largest venue in Thailand currently, is IMPACT with 11,000 capacity.]
0:34 Kuala Lumpur opened 2400 capacity venue in 2022.
[Note: Stadium Putra/Axiata Arena is currently the largest venue with a capacity of 16,000.]
0:38 In the same year, Jakarta hosted two acts in its 82,000 seat stadium.
0:44 Hong Kong will open a Sports Park with a combined capacity of over 65,000 seats by end 2024.
1:00 Philippines has a 55,000 capacity venue, but not the transport infrastructure to support it.
1:34 Macau open a 16,000 seat venue in 2023.
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