In early August, three Taylor Swift shows in Vienna had to be cancelled due to a terror threat for which several suspects were later found. One day after finishing her final concert in London – putting an end to the European leg of “The Eras Tour” - Swift broke silence on the matter with an Instagram post released two weeks after the thwarted attack.
The singer is clear on her reasons for not speaking up about the incident until now. “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,” she explained. “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.”
The safety of her next concerts in London were a higher priority:
"I decided that all of my energy had to go toward helping to protect the nearly half a million people I had coming to see the shows in London. My team and I worked hand in hand with stadium staff and British authorities every day in pursuit of that goal, and I want to thank them for everything they did for us."
She tells how “devastating” it was to have the Vienna shows cancelled. “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.” She then recognized the work from authorities and the gesture from fans who banded in Vienna to sing and dance to her songs: "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."
Swift, whose latest album, Tortured Poets Department, is seeing great success on her 15th week atop Billboard 200, wanted to express her gratitude for the "92,000 people [at Wembley Stadium] each night" who "were bursting with passion, joy, and exuberance," all of which "brought me back to a place of carefree calm up there." This performances made her the first solo artist to play Wembley eight times in one tour, as she states on a comment under her publication.
Her last show featured Florence Welch as a surprise guest for a live debut of Swift's “Florida!!!”. Jack Antonoff made an appearance as well to perform “Death By A Thousand Cuts”, and “Getaway Car” during the stripped-down surprise songs section.
"The Eras Tour" will return in October for a series of concerts in North America, concluding in December at the BC Place Stadium, in Vancouver, Canada.
You can read her full message below:
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