Rebellious Swifties Sing Their Heart Out in Vienna After Terrorist Plot Fails – National

Taylor Swift’s fans took to the streets of Austria’s capital to sing, hug and cry after three of Swift’s concerts were canceled following a thwarted terrorist plot.

Defiant Swifties gather in the heart of Vienna on a street named Corneliusgasse. Cornelia Street, The title of one of the tracks on Swift’s 2019 album loverThe song references a street in New York City’s Greenwich Village where Swift rented a luxury apartment in 2016, and where fans now flock to take selfies.

The small road saw hundreds of fans gather to commiserate over the cancellation of the Eras Tour, exchange friendship bracelets, and belt out their favorite Swift songs. Videos of the spontaneous gathering were posted to social media, showing hundreds of fans standing together in solidarity and raising their voices.

Photos from the gathering showed dozens of handmade friendship bracelets hanging from trees, featuring lyrics and titles from Swift’s songs. One police officer adorned his uniform with bracelets.

Swift’s sold-out concerts at Ernst Happel Stadium each night are expected to draw up to 65,000 fans, with an estimated 30,000 non-ticket holders expected to gather outside the venue. The shows were scheduled to take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Concert organizers abruptly canceled all three shows on Wednesday after Austrian authorities foiled what they believed to be terrorist attacks inspired by the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. A 19-year-old and a 17-year-old were arrested Wednesday in connection with the attacks. An 18-year-old was arrested Thursday on suspicion of having contacted one of the suspects.

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One of the suspects confessed to planning to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.” Authorities said chemicals and bomb-making materials were found in one of the suspects’ homes.

2:15
Austrian Chancellor Says Teen Terror Suspect Planned ‘Bloodbattle’ at Taylor Swift Vienna Concert

As rain began to fall on Thursday, some of the fans who had gathered at Corneliusgasse dispersed. Swifties took to the streets again on Friday.

One fan who flew to Vienna from Britain told the BBC that the mood at Thursday’s gathering was “somber yet excited”.

“It’s a really weird situation, and I think the ultimate emotion we’re feeling is just gratitude that we’re safe and that everyone else is safe,” she said. “It’s a mixed bag of emotions.”

But it wasn’t just Corneliusgasse that welcomed the resilient Swifts. Numerous establishments across Vienna offered their support to the disheartened fans. There were local museums offering free admission, and restaurants and coffee shops offering free food and drinks.

Barcelona-based educator and school librarian Christy Hovington posted on X (formerly Twitter) that a local church played Swift’s songs all day long to provide a gathering place for Swift fans.

Hovington told Variety that her daughter “heard Taylor Swift playing on the street and just stopped.”

“There was a sign outside this building. We didn’t know it was a church, but it said, ‘Dear Swifties, we feel sorry for you. Come and sing your sorrows away.’”

When Hovington entered, the church pews were “filled with people weeping and singing,” and songs from the Eras tour blared from the church speakers.

“Everyone was just linking arms,” she continued. “It was a really beautiful community moment. We all realized that we were sad that we wouldn’t be able to see Taylor, and that it was so sad that this horrible thing happened at a concert, targeting women and girls in particular. But Swifty was so resilient, and people were just being so kind and exchanging friendship bracelets and singing songs.”

Swift has yet to comment on the alleged plot targeting her Eras Tour, but she told Elle magazine in 2019 that an attack at one of her concerts was her “biggest fear.”

“After the Manchester Arena bombing and the Las Vegas concert shooting, I was so scared to go on tour this time, because I didn’t know how I was going to keep three million fans safe for seven months,” she said at the time.

“A tremendous amount of planning, money and effort has gone into keeping our fans safe.”

— With files from Associated Press

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Two teenagers arrested for plotting to ‘kill large crowd’ at Taylor Swift concert in Austria

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