London, United Kingdom:

Taylor Swift got the London-leg of her Eras tour off to a good start, with the UK’s Prince William posting a backstage picture of them posted on social media Saturday.

After celebrating his 42nd birthday at Swift’s Wembley Stadium concert with his children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, William posted their backstage selfie.

The US pop sensation seemed equally enamoured, posting a photo with the three royals and her boyfriend Travis Kelce.

“Happy Bday M8! London shows are off to a splendid start,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Happy Bday M8! London shows are off to a splendid start @KensingtonRoyalpic.twitter.com/VlD6V0PiEL

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 22, 2024

Reposting Taylor’s post, the official X handle of Kensington Palace, wrote, “Thank you @taylorswift13 for a great evening! #LondonTSTheErastour” (sic)

Thank you @taylorswift13 for a great evening! #LondonTSTheErastourpic.twitter.com/NFSi8hAl1o

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 22, 2024

A widely shared video on social media appeared to show William, who is the heir to the throne, dancing energetically to Swift’s hit single “Shake it off”.

| Prince William vibing and dancing along to “Shake It Off” at Night 1 of Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras Tour’ in London! #LondonTSTheErasTour

pic.twitter.com/WYr5rG8DaL

— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) June 22, 2024

Also among the nearly 90,000 fans packed into the stadium was Labour party leader Keir Starmer, who with his wife.

Starmer, who after next month’s election could be Britain’s next prime minister, said on Saturday that Swift “was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic”.

“I know I will be asked what is my favourite song and I am not going to pretend I have got every album and know every song,” he told reporters on the campaign trail. 

“Although ‘Change’ is the one for obvious reasons,” he added, referring to the word which is also his election campaign slogan.

Swift is currently touring the UK as part of the Europe-leg of her Era’s tour. She is performing two more shows in London on Saturday and Sunday before returning to the British capital again in August. 

She has already played shows in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff and will be heading to Dublin next.

The London Mayor’s office announced on Thursday that the eight Era’s tour performances in London would general £300 million ($380m) for the city’s economy.

In the lead-up to Friday’s show, the mayor unveiled several murals dedicated to Swift as well as a special Tube map with stations named after songs to mark the tour.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

American singer Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has sparked a diplomatic row as she is performing six sold-out shows in Singapore, which have disappointed the country’s neighbours, as per a report in the Independent. The exclusivity clause negotiated by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, which forbids Ms Swift from performing anywhere else in Southeast Asia, has led to a backlash among the city-state’s neighbours over the arrangement, which is estimated to be worth about 14 million pounds.

The ‘Lover’ singer is performing six shows in Singapore from March 2 to 9. Thailand and the Philippines have criticised the same and have branded the deal “unfriendly”. They have expressed that they are being deprived of the increase in tourism linked to her concerts.

Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said that he was informed of the agreement that Ms Swift will not do any other shows in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Citing a concert promoter, he said that Singapore offered Ms Swift up to US$3 million per concert if she did not play anywhere else in Southeast Asia, according to Sky News.

“The Singapore government is astute. If she came to Thailand, it would have been cheaper to organise it here, and I believe she would be able to attract more sponsors and tourists to Thailand. Even though we would have to subsidise at least 500m baht, it would be worth it,” he said.

The Thai PM said in a keynote speech at the iBusiness Forum 2024 in Bangkok, “If I had known this, I would have brought the shows to Thailand. Concerts can generate added value for the economy.”

Filipino lawmaker Joey Salceda said that the deal  “isn’t what good neighbours do”. “Our countries are good friends. That’s why actions like that hurt.” Although he mentioned that it boosted Singapore’s economy, it was done “at the expense of neighbouring countries, which could not attract their own foreign concertgoers, and whose fans had to go to Singapore.” He further said that the Philippines should not “just let things like these pass.”

Meanwhile, the Singapore PM confirmed that Ms Swift was provided with “certain incentives” from a government fund created to revive Singapore’s tourism sector following the Covid-19 outbreak. “It has turned out to be a very successful arrangement. I don’t see that as being unfriendly. Sometimes one country makes a deal, sometimes another country does. I don’t explicitly say ‘you will come here only on condition that you’ll not go to other places,” he added.

Additionally, he suggested that when Ms Swift performed shows in Sydney and Melbourne before her performance in Singapore, Australia may have come to similar “mutually acceptable, sensible arrangements.” “If that’s what’s needed to be done to get an outcome which is mutually beneficial and which, from Singapore’s point of view, serves not just to grow the economy but also to bring in visitors and goodwill from all over the region, I don’t see why not,” Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong said.

He stated, “If we had not made such an arrangement, would she have come to someplace else in southeast Asia or more places in southeast Asia? Maybe, maybe not. These are things that she will decide.”