As Taylor Swift prepares for a five-night run at England’s Wembley Stadium—the last shows of the European leg of her massive Eras Tour—fans are tempering their excitement with unease over the superstar’s nonresponse to the cancellation of her three shows in Vienna, Austria.
To recap: just before Swift was set to play three shows in Vienna, authorities discovered a planned terrorist attack organized by Austrian teenagers who had become radicalized online.
From what’s been revealed, the plan was to attack not the concert itself but the crowd of fans who typically gather outside of the stadium to “TayGate,” a.k.a. tailgate, and aren’t subject to security measures like the fans who go inside.
Andreas Rentz/TAS24
The venue made the decision to cancel all three shows with less than 24 hours before the first concert was set to start, and promised to refund all ticket holders. But fans who had traveled for the show, taken time off work, and booked hotel rooms wouldn’t be getting their money back for those expenses.
Basically everyone in the fandom agreed that canceling the shows was the right move and made the best of it, gathering in the street to sing songs, trade bracelets, and collect the free trinkets Swarovski gave to ticket holders. The Eras Tour movie was broadcast on Austrian TV for one night, giving fans without access to Disney Plus a chance to at least see what the concert would have been (minus the TTPD set).
Amid all of this, Swift herself has said nothing. Taylor Nation, the star’s official fan account, only reshared the initial announcement about the cancellations, and information about where to get merch at Wembley given that there’s now no TayGating allowed.
Since then, there hasn’t been a word from Swift, in the media or on social media. Not even a “source” sharing a quote with an outlet. Nothing. And then she was pictured in London throwing a party for her staff, which is a nice gesture, if not what the fans wanted from her.
