Taylor Swift has commented on the “devastating” cancellation of her three Vienna ‘Eras’ tour concerts after authorities foiled a terror plot targeting the shows.
Earlier this month, all three of the pop star’s ‘Eras Tour’ shows in Vienna were cancelled after it was revealed that two people had been arrested for allegedly plotting a terror attack during the gigs.
The ‘Midnights’ singer was set to play at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday (August 8), Friday (9) and Saturday (10), but event organiser Barracuda Music confirmed that it had “no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety”.
Taylor Swift had not commented on the cancellation and the terror plot at the time, and went on to close out the European leg of the ‘Eras’ tour with five sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium in London.
Now, in a post on social media recapping the European tour, Swift has spoken about the terror plot and the cancelled Vienna shows: “Walking onstage in London was a rollercoaster of emotions. Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating. The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows. But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives.”
She continued: “I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who banded together. I decided that all of my energy had to go toward helping to protect the nearly half a million people I had coming to see the shows in London. My team and I worked hand in hand with stadium staff and British authorities every day in pursuit of that goal, and I want to thank them for everything they did for us. Let me be very clear: I am not going to speak about something publicly if I think doing so might provoke those who would want to harm the fans who come to my shows.”
“In cases like this one, ‘silence’ is actually showing restraint, and waiting to express yourself at a time when it’s right to. My priority was finishing our European tour safely, and it is with great relief that I can say we did that,” she wrote.
Read Taylor Swift’s full post below.
In relation to the terror plot on the Vienna shows, a 19-year-old main suspect was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and a second person in the Austrian capital. It was widely reported that the former had pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group.
The main suspect – who has not been named in line with Austrian privacy rules – fully confessed to planning a terror attack at one of the shows in Vienna. He had reportedly wanted to use knives or self-made explosives outside the Ernst Happel Stadium to kill as many people as possible (via Sky News). A police search of his house reportedly led to chemicals, explosives, knives and machetes being found.
It was later reported that a third suspect had been arrested by police in the area after allegedly being in contact with the main suspect.
Last week, the lawyer representing the main suspect in the alleged terror plot claimed that the accusations against their client had been exaggerated. “He had neither the means nor the possibility and the explosives to carry this out,” defense lawyer Werner Tomanek said. He went on to add that “the alleged attack plans were pure fantasies.”
There was some debate as to whether the shows in London would continue as scheduled given the circumstances, and police at Scotland Yard later confirmed that the remaining Wembley gigs should “not [be] impacted” by the Vienna terror plot. The Wembley shows proceeded as planned, but with an earlier start and end time than originally announced when tickets first went on sale.
At her final Wembley Stadium show for the tour, Swift invited Florence Welch and Jack Anotonoff onstage as special guests, and debuted ‘So Long, London’ and a music video for ‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart’ to close out the show.