Singer Reflects on Emotional End to European Leg of Eras Tour, Grateful ‘We Were Grieving Concerts and Not Lives’
Taylor Swift has opened up about the cancellation of three Vienna concerts on her Eras tour, which were called off earlier this month following the discovery of a terror plot. The singer shared that the situation left her with a “new sense of fear” and a “tremendous amount of guilt.”
Austrian authorities uncovered the planned attack, leading to the arrest of three teenagers, aged 17, 18, and 19. The suspects were allegedly plotting an Islamist attack in the Vienna area, with Swift’s concerts being the primary target. According to Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, the head of state protection and intelligence at Austria’s interior ministry, the 19-year-old suspect planned to “either today or tomorrow kill himself and a large crowd of people.”
The police revealed that the suspect had recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group and had been radicalized online. Chemicals for bomb-making were found at his residence.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday night, Swift shared her emotions as she reflected on the end of the European leg of her tour, which concluded with five shows in London.
“Having our Vienna shows canceled was devastating,” she wrote. “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.”
Swift expressed her gratitude to her fans for their “love and unity” during the difficult time and explained that her focus shifted to ensuring the safety of the nearly half a million fans attending her London shows. “My team and I worked closely with stadium staff and British authorities every day to achieve that goal, and I want to thank them for everything they did for us,” she said. Swift also emphasized that she chose not to speak publicly about the situation earlier, as she did not want to provoke anyone who might wish to harm her fans.
The Instagram post marked Swift’s first public comment on the Vienna incident. She acknowledged her silence in the weeks following the threat, explaining that it was an act of “restraint” and that she waited to speak out until the timing was appropriate. “My priority was finishing our European tour safely, and it is with great relief that I can say we did that,” she said.
Swift’s Vienna concerts were originally scheduled for August 8-10 at the Ernst Happel Stadium. Authorities initially suggested that the shows could continue with increased security, but they were eventually canceled due to what Vienna police chief Gerhard Purstl described as an “abstract danger.”
Swift is set to return to North America in November and December for a series of shows in Canada that will conclude the Eras tour. The tour has already made history, becoming the highest-grossing tour ever with over $1 billion in revenue and even causing seismic activity on more than one occasion.
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