For some of us, the fondest memories of our youth were spent screaming our lungs out at the front row of a concert, heady with the joy of seeing an artist we long idolised finally in the flesh. For avid concertgoers in Singapore, this July has certainly proved to be a very eventful month. Between Coldplay’s sold-out ticket sales and fans signing up for UOB credit cards for Taylor Swift presales, it’s not an easy month to be a music lover or a die-hard fan.
However, some Swifties have decided that the gloves are off when it comes to securing the extra advantage when it comes to ticket sales. Eagle-eyed netizens have drawn attention to several TikTok comments on videos promoting the concert, namely those requesting for ticket sale priority be given to Singaporeans. Some have suggested, jokingly (or so we hope) using Singapass or NRIC numbers to give ticket sale priority to Singaporeans.
These commenters must have been doing the most publicity-wise, as they attracted the attention of Minister for Culture, Community, and Youth (MCCY) Edwin Tong in a Tiktok interview. In the aforementioned interview, Minister Tong addressed the commenters, saying that “We need to make sure it’s fair, that when Taylor performs here, we will have access to all, not just Singaporeans.”
So there’s no shot for ticket sales, regardless of the event, to have a priority booking system reserved just for Singaporeans. But that begs the question, just what makes Singaporeans think it is socially acceptable to attempt to gatekeep events? Perhaps it might be the notion that it’s a right as Singaporean to have priority when big events are happening in our proverbial backyard. Or maybe we hear these complaints more and more because we are used to looking out for the stereotype of the ‘entitled Singaporean.’ After all, since the concert is happening in Singapore, why shouldn’t Singaporeans stand to benefit the most?
While such comments may be interpreted as gatekeeping or bordering eerily on xenophobia, perhaps we can ask just why the need to raise the suggestion of gatekeeping even exists. As a Singaporean, the chance to see big names perform in your country is a source of great pride and joy. But what happens when you lose out on your opportunity to partake in these hallmark events, losing out to other Southeast Asian fans?
Perhaps our ‘kiasu’ nature of not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to be included is less about excluding others but more about having a home-turf advantage of sorts. And maybe, just maybe, feeling the perks of being Singaporean.
