Taylor Swift lands in Singapore ahead of first concert on March 2, convoy arrives at Capella

SINGAPORE – There was an air of anticipation at Seletar Airport on Feb 27 as security officers set up barriers and Swifties awaited the arrival of Taylor Swift.

Her chartered flight touched down at 5.05pm. The pop star got off flight number VJT993 – a Bombardier Global Express jet.

The 34-year-old singer, who had concluded the Australian leg of her The Eras Tour at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on Feb 26, is on a mission to make more magic at her next stop – Singapore.

According to flight-tracking website Flightaware, she set off from Sydney at 11.58am local time (8.58am Singapore time), with the flight taking about eight hours.

While not many fans turned up at the airport, Flightradar24, a separate flight-tracking website, showed that Swift’s was the most tracked plane as at 5pm, with more than 6,000 people following its flight path.

Upon landing, Swift and her entourage boarded black Toyota Alphards. There was speculation that she would be staying at Marina Bay Sands, the official presenting partner for her tour here.

When The Straits Times tailed the convoy, it seemed that they were heading there. Then, they bypassed the hotel and headed for Sentosa, stopping at luxury resort hotel Capella at about 6.20pm.

Even before her first concert at the National Stadium on March 2, Taylormania has swiftly drummed up excitement in the singer’s sole South-east Asian destination.

MBS announced on Feb 26 that it will host curated events to celebrate the entertainment event, including transforming parts of The Shoppes and Sands Expo & Convention Centre into Swift homages and holding a light and water show from Feb 28 to March 7.

It will also have a retail pop-up at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre’s Hall C, which will be open from Feb 29 to March 9.

Hotels have also experienced a demand boom, as more than 300,000 fans from across the region make their way to Singapore. MBS, which offers a slew of premium packages starting from $10,000, has sold all of them, including a $50,000 package, which includes VIP tickets and passes to tourist attractions.

Additional reporting by Eddino Abdul Hadi

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