There was a huge shift in the music industry after the terrorist attack at Ariana Grande’s 2017 concert in Manchester. Pop stars and their teams now had to take into account that they and their fans were being actively targeted by terrorist groups looking to stage deadly attacks at concerts. Law enforcement around the world began paying more attention too – it’s no longer about crowd control and protecting pop stars from stalkers and creeps, now every concert has to be treated like a potential terrorist target. The thing about that kind of vigilance is that oftentimes it’s completely justified and lives are saved. Taylor Swift had to cancel her Eras concerts in Vienna this week because of a planned terrorist attack.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shows in Vienna have been canceled because of what Austrian police say was a planned terrorist attack targeting the concerts.
“With 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,” Barracuda Music, an event organizer in the city, posted Wednesday evening on Instagram.
Taylor Nation, an Instagram account run by Swift’s team, reposted the message to its story. According to the post, all tickets will be refunded and ticketholders can visit a website to request refunds. Swift’s website also appears to reflect the cancellation. The Vienna shows under the “tour” tab now have a note accompanying the date and location information.
“*All tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days,” it says.
Swift has yet to say anything on social media, nor has she confirmed the cancellations.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer shared his disappointment over the cancellations on X and said the situation was serious. He thanked officials for identifying the threat early and preventing what could have been a tragedy.
Swift was scheduled to perform at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for the international leg of the Eras Tour. Earlier, officials said two people were arrested Wednesday in connection with allegations of plans to attack major events in Vienna, including Swift’s coming concerts.
I would assume Taylor is being advised to stay silent publicly until she’s given some kind of clearance from Austrian law enforcement. I believe she’s still in the country, and there are probably concerns that she could be targeted too.
Meanwhile, as Taylor deals with what must be a terrifying and nerve-wracking experience in Austria, the American media is going f–king bonkers over one photo in an Instagram carousel posted by Taylor this week. In one image, Taylor’s backup dancer is walking away from Taylor and the dancer’s silhouette looks very Kamala Harris-esque. Swifties were going wild on Wednesday, thinking that Taylor was subtly endorsing the Harris-Walz ticket. No, it was just a backup dancer. But people are hoping that she endorses sooner rather than later. Even the NY Times is doing coverage about her potential endorsement. For what it’s worth, Tim Walz is a Swiftie.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Instagram.