Taylor Swift will return to the stage in London on Thursday to finish the European leg of her “Eras” tour, a week after her Vienna concerts were canceled because of a suicide attack plot.
The five-day match will see around 90,000 fans attend Wembley Stadium in London for the first time, with extra ticket checks and restrictions in place.
Last week, all three shows by US mega-stars in the Austrian capital were cancelled after it was revealed there were Islamic State-inspired plans to carry out attacks using explosives and knives.
Three Islamic State supporters have been arrested for plotting the atrocity, which was foiled with help from US intelligence agencies.
London’s Metropolitan Police has said that “there is no indication that the matters being investigated by the Austrian authorities will have any impact on forthcoming events in London.”
In a statement, a police spokesperson said the force was “working closely with the venue’s security teams and other partners to ensure appropriate security and policing.”
Fans have been warned on Wembley’s website that they may face “additional ticket checks” around the stadium.
‘Tay-gating’
Swift’s return to the British capital, after tickets for three shows in June sold out, comes two weeks after three young women were killed in a stabbing attack at a dance class set to the pop star’s music in northwest England.
Following the stabbing attack, Swift said she was “in total shock” and “at a loss for how to express my condolences to these families.”
He has not yet commented on the decision to cancel the Vienna show.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan told Sky News that the city would “continue to work closely with the police to ensure that Taylor Swift’s concerts can take place safely in London.”
“We have a lot of experience in dealing with these incidents, we are never complacent, we have learnt many lessons after the horrific attack at Manchester Arena,” Khan said.
He was referring to the bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in 2017 that killed 22 people, some of them children.
Fans without tickets will also not be allowed into the event to “Tay-gate” — Swift’s fans standing outside the venue to listen to the music during live shows.
Royal audience
The stadium’s website states that “no one is allowed to stand outside the entrance or in front of the stadium” and that “non-ticket holders will be moved on”.
Although this practice was not permitted at his concerts in June, some fans still managed to congregate outside Wembley.
Following two performances in Madrid in late July, Swift said that around 50,000 people “came out and listened to the shows” on both nights, “including those who were attending from afar”.
Meanwhile, his final London event was attended by some high-profile names.
These included Keir Starmer, who was running to become Britain’s prime minister at the time, and Prince William, who was celebrating his birthday with his children Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
The singer posted a photo with the royal family and her boyfriend, American football player Travis Kelsey, with the caption: “Happy Birthday M8! The London show is off to a great start.”
After completing the European leg of her record-breaking tour – which kicked off in Paris in May and saw the star perform across the continent – Swift will then head to North America.
Its final leg will begin on October 18 in Miami.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
