By Riham Alkousaa
BERLIN (AP) — Taylor Swift fans were left reeling with grief, anger and disbelief Thursday when the singer’s three Vienna concerts were abruptly canceled after the government announced that security officials had detected a planned attack at the venue.
The concert, held at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium, was expected to draw around 195,000 “Swifties”, many of whom had travelled from abroad to see the pop superstar live.
“A year of excitement gone in a second,” said one fan reacting to a message sent out by organisers on Instagram on Wednesday, announcing the cancellation of the concert less than 24 hours before the first show was set to begin.
The post received more than 5,500 reactions, most of which ranged from understanding to outrage, with many urging Swift to address her fans directly and reschedule her show in the Austrian capital.
The 34-year-old singer-songwriter has not yet issued a public statement.
“We waited a whole year for this and we came here from North Macedonia. Yes, it was probably a six-hour journey. We were so excited, but there was nothing we could do,” said Michaela Dujanski, a fan in Vienna.
Inspired by Swift’s 2019 “Cornelia Street”, dozens of her fans took to Vienna’s Corneliusgasse street on Thursday afternoon. The street has become an unofficial pilgrimage for Swift fans in recent days.
Fans sang their favorite Swift songs while sharing their disappointment with handmade friendship bracelets, inspired by one of her 2022 album songs and exchanged among Swifties.
“I repeat, this has averted a tragedy,” Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Kanner said on Thursday, referring to the concert organiser’s decision to cancel the event.
Austrian police on Wednesday detained three people suspected of plotting the attacks. The main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian citizen of North Macedonian descent, allegedly plotted to attack Swift fans in Vienna with bombs or knives and had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group, authorities said Thursday.
Swift has previously spoken about her fears about security on tour, especially in the wake of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing that killed 22 people and the mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival that same year that killed 60.
“I was absolutely terrified going on tour this time because I didn’t know how we were going to keep 3 million fans safe over seven months,” she said in an interview with Elle magazine in 2019, revealing that fear of violence forced her to carry military-grade bandages for emergencies.
Ticket refund
Barracuda Music, the organiser of the concert, said all ticket amounts would be automatically refunded within 10 days.
However, for many fans who traveled from far and wide, the reimbursement fell short of covering their expenses.
Mark del Rosario, who came from the Philippines for the concert, said the cancellation was heartbreaking and disappointing. But he understood the decision.
“I think at the end of the day safety comes first,” Del Rosario said, standing in front of the stadium, where a concert series was scheduled to begin Thursday.
Tracy Jo Clark Neuser said she was shocked and disheartened after flying in from the United States.
“Even if they reschedule the show, we’ll never be able to afford to come back,” Neuser wrote on Instagram, asking how he could get a poster for the canceled concert.
He added, “It will definitely be a story on our wall, even though it is unfortunate. We just have to believe that everything happens for a reason.”
This article is generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
