After a lengthy intro, Coldplay’s newest video opens with the British band playing on a small floating stage. “We were born to be young and free,” lead singer Chris Martin sings. Behind him sits Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands casino and the Singapore Flyer observation wheel—a win for the Southeast Asian city, with its skyline now featured prominently in the music video for one of the world’s most well-known bands.
“Man in the Moon,” which the band released Friday, features so many iconic Singapore sights, like the city’s famed hawker centers and its Jewel Changi Airport, that Rolling Stone Australia (and several other outlets) dubbed it a “love letter to Singapore.”
The video was filmed with the help of the Singapore Tourism Board, and shot during Coldplay’s six-day stopover in the city-state during its Music of the Spheres World Tour in January 2024.
Singapore hasn’t yet revealed how much the video cost, yet public relations consultations say this was a good play by the city’s tourism agency.
“This is an investment that ensures Singapore is seen by a global audience,” says Jose Raymond, managing director of SW Strategies, a regional public relations and strategic communications firm. “It’ll be interesting to know how much the Singapore Tourism Board paid for this endeavor.”
Raymond says the Coldplay video will be an “economic investment” if it entices more people to visit Singapore.
Yvonne Koh, founder and managing director of Saeloun Asia, a communications consultancy based in Singapore, calls the music video a good “counter” to impressions that Singapore is a boring and expensive destination. She points to the video featuring local eateries and neighborhoods, appealing to younger travelers more drawn to cultural experiences.
Singapore's megastars gambit
Singapore has bet big on megastars’ ability to draw masses of visitors.
In 2024 alone, Singapore featured high-profile global acts like Coldplay, Taylor Swift, and Ed Sheeran. K-pop stars like Shinee, Taiwanese stars like A-Lin, and Hong Kong heartthrob Andy Lau also paid visits to the Southeast Asian city.
“Now that Beyoncé has announced her list of upcoming concerts, we are waiting to see if Singapore is on the cards,” Raymond says.
Singapore’s neighbors have shown some envy at its success. Singapore was the only Southeast Asian stop on Taylor Swift’s global Eras Tour. Officials in Hong Kong, Thailand, and the Philippines all questioned why Swift wasn’t making a stop to see their residents; the latter two complained about Singapore’s decision to pay an exclusivity fee to Swift’s concert organizers.
But it paid off. After the first quarter of 2024, following Swift's and Coldplay’s concerts, the Monetary Authority of Singapore suggested that the concerts generated at least 350 million Singaporean dollars ($185 million) in economic activity.
Tourism overall ended up being a bright spot for Singapore’s economy that quarter. The city’s economy grew by just 0.1% on a year-by-year basis, saved by strong services spending.
