Taylor Swift spoke about her "biggest fear"—the possibility of a terrorist attack at one of her concerts— years before authorities thwarted the alleged threat against her Eras Tour.
In a 2019 column for Elle, the pop superstar expressed her deep anxiety about the safety of her fans, especially in the wake of the tragic events of the Manchester Arena bombing and the Las Vegas concert shootings.
Swift admitted that after those devastating attacks, she was "terrified" at the thought of bringing together thousands of fans in arenas across the world.
Reflecting on her experience following the end of her Reputation tour, she wrote in an essay for the outlet: “I was completely terrified to go on tour this time because I didn’t know how we were going to keep 3 million fans safe over seven months.
“There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense, and effort put into keeping my fans safe.”
The Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017, which claimed the lives of 22 people during an Ariana Grande concert, and the Las Vegas shooting just five months later, where 58 concertgoers were killed, had a profound impact on Swift.
These tragedies deepened her "fear of violence" and led her to take extraordinary precautions in her personal life as well. She began carrying “army grade bandage dressing” specifically “for gunshot or stab wounds” after the horrifying events.
Swift's fears were not unfounded. As a global celebrity, she has had to deal with multiple stalkers, heightening her anxiety about personal security.
The 34-year-old continued: “You get enough stalkers trying to break into your house and you kind of start prepping for bad things.”
Despite these fears, Swift wrote that she strives to focus on the "good in the world" and the "love and faith" she has in humanity. “We have to live bravely in order to truly feel alive,” she concluded, emphasising the importance of not letting fear control her life.
Fortunately, Swift’s worst fears were averted recently when Austrian authorities intercepted a terror threat aimed at her Eras Tour.
However Britain’s police minister said on Thursday that Scotland Yard will be risk assessing whether it it safe for Swift’s concerts to go ahead at Wembley after the plot.
The American singer-songwriter sold out Wembley Stadium for three nights in June and she is due to return with her Eras Tour to the huge venue for five performances next week.
Organisers of three Swift concerts in Austria later this week were cancelled after officials announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack on an event in the Vienna area such as the concerts.
Swift was scheduled to play at the Austrian capital’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Event organiser Barracuda Music said in a post on its Instagram channel late on Wednesday that “we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety”.
Earlier on Wednesday, authorities said they had arrested two suspected extremists, one of whom appeared to be planning an alleged attack on an event in the Vienna area such as upcoming concerts.
The 19-year-old main suspect was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and the second person in the Austrian capital.
Asked about the cancellations and the planned concerts at Wembley, Home Office minister Dame Diana Johnson told LBC Radio said: “Clearly the police will be looking at all the intelligence and making decisions.
“They risk assess every event that happens in this country.”
