2024-08-16 10:23:16
Taylor Swift is back on stage after the canceled concerts. Her handling of the events in Vienna surprised some fans. Because she didn’t say a word about it.
Taylor Swift’s cancelled Vienna concerts were accompanied by disappointment and uncertainty. Disappointment because her fans had been looking forward to her performance for months, some of them paying a lot of money and making elaborate outfits. Uncertainty not only because the police spoke of concrete evidence of a terrorist attack, but also because it was not clear what would happen with the remaining European concerts.
Taylor Swift withdrew after the high security risk. The public did not know where the US singer was. Speculations and rumors were shared on social networks. Some people were sure that she had left Vienna directly or had not even been there. Others assumed she was still in the Austrian capital. Or had she long since returned to the USA and was going to cancel her last European concerts in London?
However, the city did not intend to cancel the concert. Mayor Sadiq Khan told Sky News in advance: “We will continue to work closely with the police to ensure that the concerts in London can take place safely.” Taylor Swift, on the other hand, did not confirm to her fans – the so-called Swifties – that she would definitely perform in London. And there was no other word from the US singer either.
But fans could breathe a sigh of relief. The singer took to the stage at the sold-out Wembley Stadium on Thursday evening and played in front of around 90,000 visitors. As a surprise guest, she invited musician Ed Sheeran, who is her personal friend, onto the stage. The mood was good, and it was not noticeable that her concert in Vienna was going to be the target of an attack. This was also because Taylor Swift continued to remain silent. There is still no statement about Vienna – neither off stage nor on stage.
However, one British fan saw it as a good sign that Taylor Swift was out in public: “I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Taylor Swift partying in London. She seems to be doing better than we all thought. I think she wants to show us and the world that she is doing well and that she is not letting terrorists spoil her mood.”
Taylor Swift’s silence is also striking in comparison to another incident: In Southport at the end of July, a 17-year-old attacked participants in a Taylor Swift dance class. Three girls were killed, other children and two adults were injured. “The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport still overwhelms me and I am simply in complete shock. The loss of life and innocence and the horrific trauma inflicted on everyone present, the families and the first responders,” Taylor Swift wrote on Instagram – just one day after the fatal attack.
Why she decided to remain silent about the events in Austria is unclear. Political scientist and Swiftie Natascha Strobl, who wanted to attend a concert in Vienna, was also surprised shortly after the cancellation. Taylor Swift actually always communicates clearly with her fans. “That’s strange in my eyes,” said the 39-year-old on t-online.