A return under high surveillance. American pop star Taylor Swift, three of whose concerts were cancelled last week following a foiled attack plan in Vienna, Austria, is resuming her monumental tour, “Eras”, in London this Thursday. Nearly 90,000 fans are expected at Wembley Stadium for each of the singer’s last five European concerts, almost a year and a half after the launch of her gigantic tour in the United States.
A week ago, the revelation of a suicide bombing plot and the arrest of three suspects, including a 19-year-old Islamist, in Vienna led to the last-minute cancellation of three of his shows in the Austrian capital. A decision that helped avoid “a bloodbath,” according to Austrian authorities. The American star, who maintains a close relationship with his fan community, the “Swifties,” has not yet commented on the decision to cancel his concerts in the Austrian capital.
Gatherings prohibited around the stadium
The news had caused concern among the singer’s fans, but London police wanted to reassure. In a statement, the latter indicated that ticket checks would be reinforced at the entrance, coupled with additional security measures around the stadium. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also assured Sky News that the city was working “closely with the police to ensure that Taylor Swift’s concerts can take place in London safely.”
Following a string of sold-out shows in London in June, Swift’s return to the UK capital also comes nearly two weeks after three girls were murdered in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England, which sparked a wave of xenophobic riots in the country. The children, aged six, seven and nine, were attending a dance class set to songs by Swift, who said she was “completely shocked” and shared her grief on social media.
On the Wembley website, ticket holders were warned that “additional checks” would take place at the stadium “prior to entry”. Fans without tickets will also not be allowed to gather around the stadium to hear the music, as they usually do at the American star’s concerts.
Tickets offered to Austrian fans
During her show in Madrid at the end of July, nearly 50,000 people “listened to the concert from a nearby hill,” “participating from afar” in the evening, Taylor Swift had indicated. “No one is allowed to stand in front of an entrance or (…) in front of the stadium” and “non-ticket holders will be moved,” it was indicated this time.
Some of the star’s fans, who form a tight-knit and active community on social media, have agreed to resell or even give their tickets to other “Swifties” who were deprived of the Vienna concert. Catherine Santamaria, who was due to attend with her daughter Carla, 14, told the British PA news agency that she had been offered tickets to Monday’s Wembley concert by another fan, after writing in an online group that the teenager was “devastated”.
London will conclude the European leg of the tour, which began in May in Paris. The global star will then head to Canada for the final concerts of a global series with enormous economic repercussions. At the end of last year, “Eras” became the first tour in history to sell more than a billion dollars in tickets.