Taylor Swift first spoke out in early August about the “new sense of fear” she felt after cancelling Vienna tour dates due to attack threats.
“I felt an immense amount of guilt as so many people were planning to come to these shows,” she said in an Instagram post.
Three concerts were cancelled in the Austrian capital and three people were arrested on suspicion of planning Islamic State-inspired attacks.
The 34-year-old singer-songwriter wrapped up the European leg of his “Eras Tour” at London’s Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.
“It was devastating that my Vienna show had to be cancelled,” the US singer wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
“But I’m very grateful to the authorities because thanks to them we were able to hold the sad concert and no lives were lost. I was heartened to see the love and solidarity of the fans who came together.”
She said the safety of her fans was paramount as she continued to tour: “I have decided that I need to devote all my energy to protecting the approximately half a million fans who are in attendance to see me in London.”
“My team and I have worked tirelessly every day working with stadium staff and the UK authorities to achieve that goal and I would like to thank them for all they have done for us.”
She explained why she waited until now to speak about the cancellation of her Vienna shows, which were scheduled to take place between August 8 and 10. “I want to be very clear: I am not going to speak publicly about anything if I think it could incite people to seek to harm fans attending my shows.”
“In a case like this, ‘silence’ is actually about showing restraint and waiting until the right time to express yourself. My number one priority was successfully completing my European tour and I’m very relieved to say I have done so.”
Swift performed eight concerts at Wembley Stadium this summer, surpassing the record set by Michael Jackson in 1988 by a solo artist.
The star’s eighth show equalled Take That’s overall record for the most shows at the venue on a single tour, set in 2011.
Swift’s next show will be in Miami, Florida on October 18 as part of her Erasus Tour.
