Taylor Swift Breaks Silence on Canceled Vienna Tour Dates
Taylor Swift shared a heartfelt post on Instagram that looked back on the European leg of “The Eras Tour” and also touched on her canceled shows in Vienna, Austria.
Earlier this month, Swift’s three shows in Vienna were canceled after local authorities uncovered a terrorist attack plot targeting those concerts.
Swift wrote, “Having our Vienna shows canceled 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. I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who banded together.”
She continued, ” … 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.”
As previously reported, multiple suspects were arrested in connection to a planned terrorist attack on Swift’s shows in Vienna. At the time, local police said in a press conference that two of the suspects “became radicalized by the internet” and noted that one of the suspects had “made an oath of allegiance to the current leader of IS at the beginning of July.”
The police added, “From the current standpoint of the investigation we assume that the target of the attack were events in the Vienna region.”
When news of the concert cancelations first broke, NBC News cited a 2019 Elle magazine interview from Swift where she opened up about her fears of an attack during a tour. The pop superstar said prior to her “Lover” tour, which ended up be canceled due to Covid, “After the Manchester Arena bombing and the Vegas concert shooting, I was completely terrified to go on tour this time because I didn’t know how we were going to keep 3 million fans safe over seven months.”
Swift added, “There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense, and effort put into keeping my fans safe…My fear of violence has continued into my personal life. I carry QuikClot army grade bandage dressing, which is for gunshot or stab wounds.”
The Manchester arena bombing Swift mentioned took place in May 2017 during an Ariana Grande show, which resulted in 23 deaths, including the assailant, and over 1,000 people injured.
The Las Vegas concert shooting Swift mentioned was referencing the October 2017 Route 91 Harvest country music festival. A lone gunman shot over 1,000 rounds from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel at the festival with the aid of a bump stock device, which allows a firearm to fire shots in a similar succession to an automatic weapon. The mass shooting is the deadliest involving a lone gunman in United States history and resulted in the deaths of 60 people and wounded over 800.
