(London) Pop star Taylor Swift resumed her monumental “Eras” tour in London on Thursday evening, eagerly awaited by her fans after the cancellation last week of her three concerts planned in Vienna, targeted by a suicide bombing plot.
The American singer kicked off the first of five concerts planned at Wembley Stadium with her hit 22 wearing a T-shirt that read “a lot going on at the moment,” in an apparent reference to the tumultuous period she has just been through.
In addition to the events in Vienna, the London concerts come two weeks after three girls were stabbed to death in the northwest of England while taking part in a dance class featuring the pop star’s music.
By early afternoon, hundreds of “Swifties” had gathered around Wembley Stadium, which is expected to host some 90,000 people each evening for the final European concerts of her tour launched nearly a year and a half ago in the United States.
“It’s crazy, it doesn’t seem real,” exclaims Brodie MacArthur, a 23-year-old student from London, interviewed by AFP as she arrives at Wembley. She is wearing a long white dress inspired by the album The Tortured Poets Department.
Not far from her is Juan Ramirez, who came specially from California. “The wait for the concert was nerve-wracking. But here we are at last!” rejoices the 28-year-old ambulance driver. He was afraid that the star would cancel her concerts in the British capital.
Because a week ago, his three concerts planned in Vienna were cancelled at the last minute after the revelation of a jihadist suicide attack plan and the arrest of three suspects, which prevented a “bloodbath” according to the Austrian authorities.
PHOTO JUSTIN TALLIS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Fans outside the stairs of Wembley Stadium decorated with a portrait of Taylor Swift.
“After what happened in Vienna, it’s reassuring to know that security has been stepped up,” says Brodie MacArthur. “There’s always a worry in the back of your mind, but there are people there to keep you safe.”
London police said they were ready for the event, saying ticket checks would be stepped up and extra security measures would be put in place around the stadium.
On the Wembley website, ticket holders were warned that “additional checks” would take place at the stadium “prior to entry”.
Ed Sheeran surprise guest
The pop star did not disappoint her fans at the end of this highly anticipated concert. She brought on stage the English artist Ed Sheeran with whom she performed several songs on which they collaborated.
After several sold-out concerts in London in June, Taylor Swift’s return to the UK capital also comes almost two weeks after the murder of three girls in a knife attack in Southport, in the northwest of England, which sparked a wave of xenophobic riots in the country.
The children, aged six, seven and nine, were attending a dance class themed to songs by Taylor Swift, who said she was “completely shocked” on social media.
The BBC reported on Thursday that the pop star, who has a close relationship with her fans, had contacted the victims’ families after the attack.
However, she has not yet commented on the decision to cancel her concerts in the Austrian capital.
Some “Swifties”, who form a very close-knit and active community on social networks, have agreed to resell or even give their tickets for the London concerts to others who had lost their place in Vienna.
PHOTO ALASTAIR GRANT, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Swifties Friendship Bracelets
London will conclude the European leg of the tour, which began in May in Paris. The global star will then travel to Canada from November for the final concerts of a resounding world series, marked by earthquakes sometimes recorded locally when tens of thousands of spectators jump and dance together, but also by its enormous economic impact.
Late last year, “Eras” became the first tour in history to sell more than $1 billion in tickets.