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.
-
- Taylor Swift performs on stage during her Eras Tour at the Murrayfield Stadium. Featuring: Taylor Swift Where: Edinburgh, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Taylor Swift performs on stage during her Eras Tour at the Murrayfield Stadium. Featuring: Taylor Swift Where: Edinburgh, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Taylor Swift performs on stage during her Eras Tour at the Murrayfield Stadium. Featuring: live, music, concert, performing, eras tour Where: Edinburgh, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Taylor Swift performing on stage at the Aviva Stadium during the Eras Tour. Featuring: Taylor Swift Where: Dublin, Ireland When: 28 Jun 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Taylor Swift performing on stage at the Aviva Stadium during the Eras Tour. Featuring: Taylor Swift Where: Dublin, Ireland When: 28 Jun 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Taylor Swift performing on stage at the Aviva Stadium during the Eras Tour. Featuring: Taylor Swift Where: Dublin, Ireland When: 28 Jun 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Taylor Swift performing on stage at the Aviva Stadium during the Eras Tour. Featuring: Taylor Swift Where: Dublin, Ireland When: 28 Jun 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Taylor Swift performing on stage at the Aviva Stadium during the Eras Tour. Featuring: Taylor Swift Where: Dublin, Ireland When: 28 Jun 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Everything I hear makes me like Tim Walz more and more. Kamala’s first major decision was an excellent one.
Afton (TW’s kitty beast) is absolutely adorable!
I haven’t been there in years, but Afton is a town in Minnesota and it used to be ADORABLE (like I said, maybe still is but I don’t know!). That he named his cat Afton is cute.
I love the guy and his cat is funny
Such a sad state of the world that things that bring people joy are being specifically targeted like this. And I imagine she’s probably withholding any statement until law enforcement gives her the go ahead as well, also if she plans to reschedule at a later date she may want to get all her ducks in a row there before saying anything at all. Good job to the law enforcement in Vienna for foiling this, and I hope that people continue to stay aware as they are attending concerts and larger events.
I live near Austria and so many people are devastated. And scared.
It’s sad on so many levels. It’s a shock. And it sobered us.
We are not in Kansas anymore.
I’m so heartbroken for all the Vienna swifties. I’m due to attend N1 at Wembley next week, if it still goes ahead. I made bracelets with the 3 swiftie’s names who were attacked and died in Southport.
I’m so tired of how much hate there is, particularly towards women & girls, and the things we like.
I hope you can still go! A friend of mine went to two nights at Wembley back in June and she said they were her favorite concerts of the tour bc the vibe was just on point. (she’s a big swiftie, I think she went to 4 or 5 shows here in the US lol.)
I know this all must be shocking to Swifties but thousands of lives are saved by this. The guys who planned this had bombs, machetes, knives, guns, they planned to drive cars into the crowd and blow them up. It would be a huge tragedy.
All of the swifties were very very lucky and I hope they realise that their lives were saved and that police deserves a lot of gratitude.
The details are horrifying and it’s hard to even let my mind fully go to what could have happened. So grateful the authorities uncovered this.
I sure they realize this, but they are allowed to be scared, disappointed and express it without having someone tell them that their feelings aren’t valid because it was the right think to do and they should be grateful.
They know that but they can be sad they missed something they were excited about, they can be heartbroken, those with future dates can hope it doesn’t happen to them without being condescended to.
Everyone knows it was the right move, but people get to be sad and they get to express that.
what a lovely and thoughtful tribute IForget. I hope all goes well without a hitch and you can sing with the other Swifties in Wembley. When we read the news this morning, I kept thinking How can some men hate women so much. Like where does that come from? ugh.
This comes after three girls were killed at a Taylor Swift dance class. Maybe the concert was targeted because it would be the largest gathering of people – but it’s also a concert of mostly women and girls. That feels important to recognize.
Many people wonder why Taylor has been silent on the election or Palestine and this is why – she is responsible for the safety of tens of thousands of people every night.
I’m glad this was thwarted and I hope there is no attempt to repeat.
This Emily, makes her silence seem far more logical. I hope people realize this now and start giving her a little grace here.
Yes, especially if she’s been getting death/ violence threats behind the scenes. She’s supposed to return to the UK after this. I just looked up her tour: After that she returns to the State and is set to play Miami, New Orleans, and Indianapolis before heading to Toronto. Could the US dates be a reason she hasn’t endorsed Kamala Harris yet? Or does she have something else in mind? FWIW, on this subject I have no doubt that she’s going to say something in support of KH.
She has given Harris permission to use any of her songs at her events and in ads, she is already playing them at rally’s so she has given as much of an endorsement as Beyoncé.
I had no doubt she was going to make a statement but after this I am not as sure, I think she wants to but she isnt’ going to risk over 100k people getting blown up in Miami if the safe thing for her to do is just give access to her music only then I think she will do that. But i am sure she is in talks with several law enforcement agencies about how bad this is.
I had thought it was obvious why she’s not speaking out – the world is a powder keg. She’s got a job to do till the end of the year involving up to 100k people a night – not just to entertain but keep safe. Plus her massive crew. She also gets a lot of maga death threats. People expect more from her than anyone else, for some reason.
BTW re that pic with the dancer : I bet posting that was intentional.
Everything Taylor does in intentional. She also changed one of her account bios to “this is a cat account” after JD Vance’s comments on cat ladies. It’s subtle but she is trying to show where she stands, while showing concern for fans.
I am crushed for the people who were to attend that concert (a lot of whom paid big money for travel as well as tickets) but this is the right decision.
All concerts need to be protected, but when i think of those concerts in particular, all of those little kids go to those concerts.
The result of a bombing at a venue that large- unacceptable.
I am glad they cancelled it.
With the white supremacists raging all over england- i hope those concerts are able to go forward.
I was sitting in Gatwick airport waiting for a connecting flight when the Grande concert was targeted.. it truly was horrific. I hope they have captured all the people involved, I can’t imagine how terrifying all this is for her and her crew.
Considering what happened to those poor people in the UK a few years back, I think it was the smart decision. It wouldn’t have been Swift that was hurt. It would’ve been her fans, since that’s really what it is at its core: attacks on women and girls.
I am glad they acted in time to cancel it. That would have been a horrific tragedy.
Absolutely! I’m sorry for her fans, but this is a terrible situation. I’m glad they caught it and prevented a horror scenario.
I’m not a Swiftie but I’m gutted for her fans, scared for her, and enraged that we can’t have fun without death threats. Men all over the world hate women in general, hate powerful women in particular, and really hate women enjoying anything. I see no difference between ISIS and the Christofascists in the US. This kind of terror is what project 2025 wants to bring to the United States. We need to have each other’s backs ladies.
1000% this.
I saw on Twitter (screw you, Elon) that some English Swifties who saw the Eras tour previously are giving, or selling at face value, their Wembley tickets to Vienna fans — which is very sweet.
Men really do hate women.
That is lovely, I saw some people who were going with husbands or boyfriends and hadn’t been were like my husband/bf will give up their ticket if you don’t mind sitting with me. I found that sweet.
I wish they could have held off refunding the tickets with a view to sitting tight and then offering a re-run maybe next year. I understand why they have outright cancelled/refunded and I know these things are huge with incredible logistics and $$$$ are involved but giving her fans the chance to choose to go in the future would have been amazing.
Taylor nor anyone in her team knows where she will be in a year, also if the stadium will be available.
Sarah, she and her team pretty much know where she will be in up to 2 years time, IRIC she said so in her documentary. I think it will be more that her huge tour will have ended after 2+ years and she will not want to do any more shows for a significant while. That might even be the smallest bit, the logistics and planning required for every single show are wild, not to mention the (maybe) hundreds of people who will be involved directly/indirectly in the tour who will also have moved on and be doing other things after it ends.
I immediately felt so badly for the European Swifties that have long planned their outfits, participation and joy.
Her talent is just staggering, and she is shifting the world in ways that I haven’t seen since a once unknown senator did the same 💙
So according to reports, the Austrian government was alerted but US intelligence about the threat. So the plot started in the US.
And for those who are demanding and judging about Taylor making and endorsement she has given permission to play her music at the Harris/Walz rallies so she has done as much as Beyoncé and considering she is still on tour that might be all she gets.
Taylor has been honest that she has gotten more death threats from more and different groups since MAGA and the GOP went after her, and there has been an increase of hate against her online and her fans some comments where cheering Isis yesterday because you know Swifties are so annoying or the worst. I mean even on this sight the way those fans are talked about is pretty disparaging when they are no different then any other fan group (clearly no one here is wanting them hurt that is extreme).
But Taylor has seen that her and her fans are being use as a way to radicalize young men so while I would like her to make a statement and endorse I think her giving permission to her music is the best we are going to get because she won’t risk the LIVES of her fans nor should she and no one should judge her for that.
Also my heart breaks for her, her team, dancers, back up singers, band and all the fans, this has to be incredibly scary and disappointing.
In the UK press they are saying that the young man arrested was planning to drive into the crowds at one of Taylors concerts armed with knives and explosives – a suicide attack. Now we know why all dates were cancelled, her concerts were his main target.
2 additional young people were arrested – one who is 17 and the other is 15.
I read that one of the other men arrested was supposed to be working as security at the event.
This is scary.
That Tim Walz is a Swiftie ~ with a cat no less …. Is just even more positivity and possibility for us All.
Thank you stars for aligning.
And thank you to the intelligence that figured out the terror plot to avoid what could have been a huge tragedy.
So many / most men in this world need to get a grip. The Divine Feminine is Rising, boys. The game is Shifting.
My hometown 🙁 It’s strange that it’s happening in Vienna because it’s one of the most surveilled cities due to being home to HQ for UN and a bunch of other major international organizations (eg OPEC). I bet Taylor is rethinking London, especially given all the recent unrest. Yikes!