Taylor Swift has spoken publicly for the first time about having to cancel a string of Eras Tour shows due to a thwarted terror threat.
Earlier this month, the 14-time Grammy winner was due to perform three shows at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna.
However, these scheduled concerts were cancelled after authorities discovered plans for an Islamist attack at the venue, leading to the arrest of three suspects aged 17, 18 and 19 years old.
With the European leg of her tour now over, Taylor broke her silence on the saga late on Wednesday night on her Instagram page.
She wrote: “Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating. The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows.
“But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives. I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who banded together.”
Taylor continued: “I decided that all of my energy had to go toward helping to protect the nearly half a million people I had coming to see the shows in London. My team and I worked hand in hand with stadium staff and British authorities every day in pursuit of that goal, and I want to thank them for everything they did for us.”
Addressing why she has chosen not to address the Vienna terror plot until now, Taylor said: “Let me be very clear: I am not going to speak about something publicly if I think doing so might provoke those who would want to harm the fans who come to my shows.
“In cases like this one, ‘silence’ is actually showing restraint, and waiting to express yourself at a time when it’s right to. My priority was finishing our European tour safely, and it is with great relief that I can say we did that.
“And then London felt like a beautiful dream sequence. All five crowds at Wembley Stadium were bursting with passion, joy, and exuberance. The energy in that stadium was like the most giant bear hug from 92,000 people each night, and it brought me back to a place of carefree calm up there.”
Read Taylor’s full statement here.
Taylor wrapped up the European leg of the Eras Tour with five concerts at Wembley Stadium spread out across six days, which included some surprise A-list guests and never-before-performed songs in the shows’ famous “acoustic section”.
As mentioned in her Instagram post, Taylor will now take a break from the world jaunt until mid-October, when she’ll resume the Eras Tour for her final shows in the US.
The tour is currently scheduled to end in Canada in December.