When Taylor Swift canceled three concerts in Vienna last week after officials there foiled a terrorist plot, Swifties soon expressed fears about the pop star’s next shows, in London.
Would Swift go ahead with the concerts at the 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium? Given the pop star once said that her “biggest fear” was a terrorist attack on one of her shows, some fans had doubts. Was it even safe to attend those London dates?
When Swift didn’t comment on the thwarted attack in Vienna or the upcoming London gigs, fan anxieties only grew.
Yet at Wembley Stadium on Thursday afternoon before the first of five concerts there, worry seemed to have given way to excitement at the chance to see Swift perform during the European leg of her globe-spanning Eras Tour.
In interviews, over a dozen fans, including many from the United States, all said that they felt safe attending the event. Kyle Foster, 46 — wearing a Kansas City Chiefs jersey like Swift’s partner, Travis Kelce — said he had flown from North Carolina with his partner and two daughters for the show. “We didn’t think twice about coming,” he said, adding he felt confident that security would “be on high alert.”
Maya Arbad, 18, who had traveled from Dubai, said two friends had decided not to attend the concert because of the foiled attack. “Their families were just too anxious to send them here,” Arbad said.
That had made her question the trip, too, Arbad added, “but my dad said, ‘Let’s just do it. We’ve been waiting too long.’”
Now, Arbad said, she was counting down the minutes until the show would start. “I think it will change my brain chemistry,” she added.
Wembley already had strict security measures, including a ban on bringing large bags into the stadium. After the cancellations in Vienna last week, the venue also forbade ticketless Swifties from gathering outside the arena, as they have done at other stops on the Eras Tour, to soak up the atmosphere and exchange friendship bracelets.
Austrian police said that the main suspect in Vienna was a 19-year-old man who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State after being radicalized online. Officers had found chemicals that could be used to make bombs, as well as machetes and knives, in the man’s home, a senior security official said last week.
The plan was reminiscent of other recent atrocities at European concert venues, including a 2015 attack at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, where more than 90 people died, and a 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert, in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people. This year, gunmen also attacked a Moscow rock show, killing more than 140 concertgoers.
In recent days, British police and politicians played down the threat of a similar event happening at Wembley. A spokesman for the London police said earlier this week that there was “nothing to indicate that the matters being investigated by the Austrian authorities will have an impact on upcoming events here.”
Several security experts said in interviews that large British theaters and arenas had greatly improved their security since the 2017 Grande concert bombing.
A government-commissioned inquiry revealed numerous security lapses that led to the attack at Manchester Arena. The bomber, Salman Abedi, who had scoped the venue beforehand, spent over an hour hiding in a security camera blind spot. A member of the public also told a steward about a suspicious man with a bag lurking in a foyer, but guards brushed it off. A member of the security staff told the inquiry that he had been afraid higher-ups would accuse him of racially profiling the bomber.
Reg Walker, the director of I.S.G. Security, which works at many of Britain’s largest entertainment venues, said that British security teams used to focus on managing the lines of people entering concerts. Now, operations extended to surveillance inside the venue, as well as at train stations and car parks, before and after shows.
Wembley’s security — which is led by Steven McGrath, a former British counterterrorism official — was among the best, Walker said. (Wembley Stadium did not respond to requests for an interview with McGrath.)
On Thursday, the visible security measures were similar to those at any other major pop concert. A handful of police officers watched over the pedestrian promenades around the stadium while dozens of security staff in high-visibility jackets patrolled the gathering crowd.
Although bags were banned in the arena, they were allowed in the stadium’s merchandise store — after a thorough search.
Inside, fans could purchase Eras-themed T-shirts and sweatshirts, and even a Taylor Swift water bottle for 15 British pounds, or about $19, although sign at the cashiers warned: “Water bottles are unable to be taken into the stadium.”
Jillian Hagner, 36, a hospital administrator from New Jersey, said that she had noticed fewer security personnel than at Swift’s North American shows. “I’m used to seeing a lot of police presence,” she said.
But that didn’t worry her, she said. British police would have canceled the show “if there was any risk,” she added.
Now, Hagner said, she was just looking forward to the moment when Swift takes the stage. Even hours before showtime, “the atmosphere’s electric,” she said. Then, Hagner headed off to change her outfit, douse herself in glitter and get ready to sing her heart out.
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