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Taylor Swift.
Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights ManagementTaylor Swift speaks out after three Eras tour Viennese shows were canceled due to an alleged terror plot.
“It was devastating that our shows in Vienna were cancelled. The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of dread and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people were planning on coming to those shows,” Swift, 34, wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, August 21, in a lengthy caption. “But I was also so grateful to the authorities, because thanks to them we mourned concerts and not lives. I was encouraged by the love and unity I saw from the fans uniting. I decided that all my energy should go into helping protect the almost half a million people who came to see the shows in London. My team and I have worked closely with the stadium staff and the British authorities every day to achieve that goal, and I would like to thank them for everything they have done for us.”
Swift went on to discuss the amount of time it took her to address the canceled shows.
“Let me be very clear: I will not speak publicly about anything if I think it could provoke those who wish to harm the fans who come to my shows,” she wrote. “In cases like this, ‘silence’ actually means holding back and waiting to express yourself when the time is right. My priority was to complete our European tour safely, and it is with great relief that I can say we have done that.”
Taylor Swift launched her first concert tour in more than four years in March 2023 – and positively slayed her fashion choices. The “Anti-Hero” singer, 33, kicked off her tour on Friday, March 17, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which hosted February’s Super Bowl LVII. The Eras Tour, which celebrated everything […]
Elsewhere in the caption, Swift celebrated the end of the European leg of the Eras tourwhich concluded with three shows at Wembley Stadium, during which I thanked “the most passionate crowd I have ever played in front of” and noted that “walking on stage in London” after missing the Vienna shows was “a rollercoaster of emotions” was.
The singer’s comments came after concert organizers Barracuda Music confirmed the cancellations via Instagram on August 7.
“Taylor Swift’s The Eras tour Vienna shows [have been] canceled due to the confirmation by government officials of a planned terrorist attack,” the statement said. “With the confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.”
The concert organizers noted that tickets for the three performances – scheduled for Thursday, August 8, Friday, August 9 and Saturday, August 10 – would be automatically refunded within the next ten working days.
Austrian police have arrested three suspects in connection with the alleged terror plot. Director of the Vienna State Police Franz Ruf and police chief Gerhard Purstl confirmed news of the first two arrests on August 7. One of the men taken into custody is a 19-year-old boy with alleged links to ISIS. Authorities alleged that the two men had specific plans to carry out an attack during Swift’s Ernst Happel Stadium residence.
The police raided the 19-year-old’s home on August 7 and found various chemical substances. Authorities are currently investigating whether the materials could have been used to build a bomb.
Austrian Minister of the Interior Gerard Karner confirmed on August 9 that a third suspect, an 18-year-old, had been arrested. Karner said the teen had been in contact with the 19-year-old prime suspect in the case.
“He had been in contact with the main perpetrator, but has no direct connection with the attack plans,” the Austrian minister said. “But as was discovered a few days ago, he specifically took an oath of allegiance to ISIS on August 6.”
Swift previously opened up about her fear of violence during one of her shows, citing the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. Ariana Grande concert and the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas that same year.
Several of Taylor Swift’s famous friends and fans showed up to shake it down during the singer’s highly anticipated The Eras Tour. The stars of Swift’s “Bejeweled” music video – Este Haim, Danielle Haim, Alana Haim and Laura Dern – were among the thousands of fans in attendance at the tour’s opening night in Glendale, Arizona. […]
“After the Manchester Arena bombing and the Vegas concert shooting, I was terrified to go on tour this time because I didn’t know how we would protect three million fans for seven months,” Swift wrote in a 2019 essay for Elle. “An enormous amount of planning, expense and effort has gone into protecting my fans.”
Last month, Swift faced a violent attack on her fan base after a stabbing during a dance class around her music left two children dead.
“The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is constantly overwhelming me, and I am just in complete shock,” she wrote on July 30 via her Instagram Story. was there, the families and the first responders. These were just little kids taking dance lessons. I don’t know how I can ever convey my condolences to these families.”
The Vienna shows mark the first time Swift has canceled one Eras tour performance since the tour began in March 2023. There have been a handful of rescheduled shows due to bad weather. In November 2023, Swift rescheduled a concert in Buenos Aires due to “chaotic” circumstances.
Taylor Swift started writing songs about love and breakups in the early 2000s, but her talent was quickly recognized by music executives who knew she was the real deal. From releasing her first record in 2006 to gracing stages around the world, this star has earned her place in the Hollywood A-list music scene. […]
“I love a rain show, but I will never put my fans or my fellow artists and crew in danger,” Swift wrote at the time via is that it would be unsafe to organize this concert. Good news is that I can stay longer in Argentina!!”
Later that same month, Swift postponed a show in Rio de Janeiro due to extreme heat. The decision came days after a 23-year-old woman received a call Ana Clara Benevides Machado died of heat exhaustion after seeking medical attention from another Eras tour performance in the Brazilian city. Swift responded to the tragedy via her Instagram Story at the time.
“I can’t believe I’m writing these words, but it is with a broken heart that I say that earlier tonight, before my show, we lost a fan. I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this,” she wrote. “There is very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and way too young.”