Taylor Swift Says Canceling Vienna Tour Dates After Planned Terrorist Attack “Filled Me With a New Sense of Fear”
Taylor Swift has broken her silence following the cancellation of her Vienna Eras Tour shows due to a terrorist threat.
The superstar took to her Instagram to share her usual wrap-up post, which she shares at the end of every tour city. In this lengthy carousel, she addressed having to cancel her tour dates because of a planned terrorist attack that was set to take place during the shows in Austria’s capital.
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“Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating,” she wrote halfway through the caption. “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. I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who banded together.”
She explained that all the energy she had built up from not having to perform in Vienna, she brought to her final five shows in London. She added that she and her team worked hand in hand with British authorities and stadium staff to make sure that those record-breaking shows in Wembley Stadium were safe.
“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,” Swift continued. “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.”
Swift’s emotional post comes a few weeks after three of her shows were canceled and three teenagers were arrested over a terrorist plot where her concerts were set to take place.
The main suspect, a 19-year-old, planned to target people who gathered outside the stadium — which could be up to 30,000 a night — with knives or homemade explosives. Two other teens were arrested and a 15-year-old was interrogated but released.
Swifties who planned to go to the Eras Tour dates in Vienna consoled each other on social media and gathered on Corneliusgasse, a small street three miles from the stadium, taking selfies and trading friendship bracelets, like they typically do during the concert.
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