Taylor Swift breaks her silence: “Fear and guilt” after Vienna cancellations

Taylor Swift’s (34) three Vienna concerts at the beginning of the month were cancelled after the authorities foiled a possible terrorist attack. The US pop star did not comment personally on the matter afterwards – neither via social media nor on stage – and continued the tour as planned with the five London performances. After the “official conclusion of the European part of ‘The Eras’ tour”, the singer is now speaking out and commenting in detail on the events in Austria.

Taylor Swift: “We mourned concerts, not human lives”

which was released at midnight, Swift writes that her last dates in London after the Vienna cancellations were a “rollercoaster of emotions”:

“The cancellation of our concerts in Vienna was terrible. The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear and an enormous amount of guilt because so many people had planned to come to these shows,” the post reads. “But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them we mourned concerts and not human lives.”

The “Fortnight” singer goes on to say that she was “encouraged by the love and unity” she saw among fans in the aftermath, when many fans flooded the streets in Vienna to sing Swift’s songs together and exchange friendship bracelets, which has become a tradition at her concerts.

Swift also reports that she and her team worked closely with British authorities after Vienna to ensure that their five nights at London’s Wembley Stadium – which ended on August 20 – would go off without incident.

That’s why Taylor Swift was silent for so long

Taylor Swift’s post came two weeks after the shows were canceled. While fans were understanding, there was also some criticism because the Grammy winner had not directly addressed the concert cancellations. In her post, she explained the bitterly serious reason for her silence.

“To be clear, I will not speak publicly about anything that I think could provoke those who wish to harm the fans who come to my shows,” she writes. “In cases like this, ‘silence’ actually means reticence and waiting to speak out at a time when it is right. My priority was to safely finish our European tour and I can say with great relief that we accomplished that.”

After the shock: London shows experienced as a “beautiful dream sequence”

In the post, Taylor Swift also praises her London shows as a “beautiful dream sequence” and says that the performances gave her back a feeling of “carefree calm” on stage. She thanks the many guests who joined her on stage during her London shows, including Ed Sheeran (33), Florence Welch (37) and Jack Antonoff (40), and calls it an “incredible honor” to be the first solo artist to have played at Wembley eight times as part of a tour.

“To the fans who saw us this summer, you will always have the sparkliest place in my memories,” she concluded her message. “It was a dream to play for you, dance with you, and share these magical moments with you. We will see you all again when we resume ‘The Eras’ tour in October, but for now we can take a much-needed break. We thank you for the adventure of a lifetime. May it continue,” said Swift.

Concert cancellations due to threat of attack in Vienna

On August 7, authorities announced that two Austrian men – a 19-year-old and a 17-year-old – had been arrested in connection with a planned attack on Swift’s concerts, which were scheduled to take place at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna from August 8 to 10.

The AP reported that the older of the two wanted to “kill as many people as possible” in an attack using explosives and knives. Two days later, Austrian authorities announced a third arrest in connection with the foiled attack, an 18-year-old.