TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said Wednesday (March 6) that he may invite pop star Taylor Swift to perform at the Taipei Dome.
A spat erupted between several Southeast Asian nations after Singapore acknowledged providing the star with incentives to stage her only “Eras Tour” concerts in the region in the city-state. The criticism led to Premier Lee Hsien Loong defending his government against criticism from Thailand and the Philippines, the Washington Post reported.
Chiang unexpectedly faced a question about Swift at a meeting of the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce, Taiwan (CNAIC), per Radio Taiwan International (RTI).
A member of the audience asked the mayor if he could invite the pop singer to Taipei to help boost the local economy. He said that personally, he would hope so, as he had attended a Taylor Swift concert with his wife in California 15 years ago.
However, he said preparations for such a concert required at least one year, while the Taipei Dome was to concentrate on hosting sports events. Last weekend, the new arena welcomed more than 30,000 fans to break attendance records for a baseball game in Taiwan.
Nevertheless, the city would be happy to welcome performances by world-class singers and bands, Chiang concluded.