By G. Mudalige, Jadetimes News
Upon her arrival in the U.S., Taylor Swift has finally spoken out regarding her fear over the terror plot that was the cause of the canceled Vienna shows in her Eras Tour, expressing deep thankfulness for no loss of lives. Fresh from wrapping up the European leg of her record-smashing world tour, the singer on Instagram shared her mind on what culminated in the abrupt call-off of her shows early this month in Austria.
In the column, Swift rejoiced that the European tour managed to end quite successfully overall, posting some pictures from the five-night stint in London. She first stated that she wanted to thank the screaming crowds of people and her crew that she called "the most amazing people." But the tone shifted immediately as she mentioned the Vienna concerts.
"Walking onstage in London was a rollercoaster of emotions. Having our Vienna shows canceled was devastating," Swift said. "The reason for the cancellations was fraught with a new kind of fear and so much guilt because so many people were coming to those shows. But I also so so grateful to the authorities because, thank god, they were allowing us to grieve concerts and not lives."
The Vienna shows, which were supposed to take place at the Ernst Happel Stadium from the 8th to the 10th of this month, were called off when on August 7th, two terror suspects were taken into custody by Austrian officials. They are said to have been planning to attack the singer's concerts, warning her "not to come to Vienna". After the revelation, an announcement was made that the Vienna shows had been called off on her behalf, but the singer chose to keep a pin-drop silence on the issue until now.
Swift commented on the backlash of some fans for not speaking out earlier and explained her reasons for keeping quiet. "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 said. "In this case, 'silence' means holding on and being guarded in one's speech until the opportune moment. My overriding concern was that, safety-wise, our European tour be completed, and I am most thankful that I can say indeed it was."
Throughout the final London shows, Swift and her team were in close cooperation with British authorities and the London stadium upon the safety measures of nearly half a million fans. The singer thanked them for their effort, saying, "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."
Although the London performances had their mishaps, Swift tried to highlight the positives, including special guests and long-term friends such as Florence + the Machine, Jack Antonoff, and Ed Sheeran, who brought the crowd energy in the stadium to give her "the most giant bear hug from 92,000 people each night" and bring her "back to a place of carefree calm up there."
With the European leg of her tour behind her now, Swift will now give herself and her crew a much-needed two-month break before returning back with the North American leg of the Eras Tour in October. She signed out her post with a hopeful message, "We will see all of you again when we pick back up with The Eras Tour in October, but for now we can rest. Thank you for the adventure of a lifetime. May it continue…"
