2024-07-18 07:56:10
Taylor Swift played her first of seven planned concerts in Germany on Wednesday evening. However, an incident occurred beforehand.
The city of Gelsenkirchen prepared meticulously for Taylor Swift’s performance on the evening of July 17th. It was her first of seven concerts in Germany as part of “The Eras Tour”.
Before the singer’s performance, however, the police had to arrive and take a stalker into custody. The man had previously made threats against the singer, said a police spokeswoman. She did not initially provide any further details about the person or the background.
Shortly before 8 p.m. on Wednesday evening, the singer was able to get going after the incident: After the opening act Paramore had played, the pop superstar entered the stage of the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen. Swift greeted her numerous fans in German with the words: “Welcome to the Eras Tour. Good evening.”
Overall, the concert was a peaceful event with around 60,000 visitors. However, the fans’ departure was delayed due to another police operation in nearby Erle. A 70-year-old man had called the police for help, the spokeswoman said. According to the report, when the officers arrived they heard loud bangs, whereupon they cordoned off the scene and part of the road to the adjacent arena. The man was in a state of psychological distress, was overpowered and taken to hospital. It was initially unclear what caused the loud bangs.
After yesterday’s show, Swift will play two more concerts at the Schalke Arena – on Thursday and Friday. After that, she will head to Hamburg for performances on July 23 and 24 and after München for shows on July 27 and 28.