Taylor Swift Cancels Thailand Concert Due to Political Turbulence
Taylor Swift has canceled what would have been her first show in Thailand following a military coup in the country last week, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“I’m sending my love to the fans in Thailand,” Swift wrote on Twitter. “I’m so sad about the concert being canceled.”
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Bangkok promoter BEC-Tero Entertainment said the June 9th show in the Thai capital was called off “due to recent events,” and echoed Swift’s sentiment, saying she expressed “regret and sincere apologies to fans in Thailand.”
The recent military coup comes after months of political unrest as protestors demanded the ouster of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the ruling populist Pheu Thai Party. The protestors alleged that Shinawatra and the rest of the government was operating under the influence of the PM’s brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, a business tycoon who became Prime Minster in 2001 and was eventually overthrown in 2006.
While Thailand has become a popular, lucrative destination for performers in recent years — attracting such acts as Justin Bieber and Avril Lavigne — the turmoil has caused other entertainers to call off concerts, including Eric Clapton, who nixed a gig in February after an outbreak of violence left four children and one adult dead.
As for Swift, the singer still has a handful of dates in Asia scheduled through June, while she’s also reportedly at work on the follow-up to her 2012 smash, Red. “I’m so obsessed with where it is right now because I think, for me, the goal is that we start coming upon a sound that’s different from everything that we’ve done before, an identity to a new record,” Swift said last year after the American Music Awards. “Having come upon that so early in the process is just really thrilling. I’ve got a lot of time to write more, but it’s really looking promising so far . . . It’s way ahead of schedule. So I’m really stoked for you to hear it.”