Taylor Swift addresses Vienna concert cancellations

After noticeably not addressing terrorist threats that caused her and her team to cancel several shows in Vienna during the recently concluded European leg of her almost literally unavoidable, planet-spanning Eras Tour, Taylor Swift has now opened up about the incidents. Specifically, Swift discussed the Vienna cancellations—which happened after Austrian authorities said they caught wind of a plot to attack her concerts in the city in early August—on social media tonight.

Writing on Instagram, Swift made it clear that her decision not to address the Vienna incidents any earlier was very deliberate, and intended, at least in part, as an effort not to encourage copycats from targeting her then-upcoming shows in London. She also addressed her “guilt” over the decision to cancel the shows, ultimately concluding her gratitude that all involved “were grieving concerts, not lives.”

Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating. 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. But 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. 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. 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.
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 Eras Tour has now been running since March of 2023, and is now in its last four months of existence. It’s set to make one more quick run through the United States this October, before finishing in Vancouver, Canada on December 8. It’s the highest-grossing concert tour in history, having already brought in more than a billion dollars in revenue.