Taylor Swift’s stadium tours in Vienna were canceled amid two men being arrested for plotting a terrorist attack. Here’s what we know about the frightening incident and what it could mean for Taylor’s upcoming shows at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Inside the Cancellation of Taylor’s Vienna Shows
The cancellation of Taylor’s Vienna shows was announced on August 7, with promoter Barracuda Music writing in an Instagram statement, “Taylor Swift The Eras Tour Vienna shows cancelled due to government officials confirmation of planned terrorist attack. With confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernest Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.” They added that all tickets would be refunded within 10 business days.
Vienna State Police President Gerhard Pürstl reportedly noted that~65,000 fans were planning to attend each of Taylor’s three shows (and that doesn’t include an additional ~15,000 Swifties who were expected outside the stadium).
According to the New York Times, one of the two people arrested for the planned terrorist attack is a 19-year-old citizen of Austria who had “recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State online and had focused on the Eras Tour as a potential target.”
What Does This Mean for Taylor’s London Shows?
Taylor’s next stop on the Eras Tour is scheduled for August 15 at London’s Wembley Stadium, and TMZ reports it is going ahead as planned. That said, the outlet notes that “Taylor’s camp is teaming up with the tour promoter AEG and Wembley Arena to beef up security.”
Per the New York Times, London’s Metropolitan Police said there’s “nothing to indicate that the matters being investigated by the Austrian authorities will have an impact on upcoming events here in London.”
Meanwhile, Deadline reports UK Policing Minister Diana Johnson addressed the situation on Thursday, August 8, saying, “Clearly, the police will be looking at all the intelligence and making decisions, they risk assess every event that happens in this country, and that’s something for the police.”
She added, “There is, of course, a commitment in our manifesto in the General Election to introduce Martyn’s law, which, again, is about making sure that those…venues which could be subject to terrorist attack have in place everything that they need in terms of keeping people safe, and that will be brought forward by the government shortly.”
FYI: Martyn’s Law is named after Martyn Hett, one of 22 victims in the 2017 attack on Ariana Grande’s concert at the Manchester Arena.
Taylor Has Spoken Out About Her Fears of a Stadium Attack
In a 2019, Taylor wrote an essay for ELLE and spoke about her “biggest fear” being an attack on her fans during a show.
“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,” she explained. “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. Websites and tabloids have taken it upon themselves to post every home address I’ve ever had online. You get enough stalkers trying to break into your house and you kind of start prepping for bad things. Every day, I try to remind myself of the good in the world, the love I’ve witnessed and the faith I have in humanity. We have to live bravely in order to truly feel alive, and that means not being ruled by our greatest fears.”
We’ll be updating this article with further developments.