Taylor Swift’s (36) sixth major concert tour began in March 2023 in the USA and ended in December 2024 in Vancouver, Canada. With the world tour, the musician wanted to celebrate all the albums released up to that point and their “musical eras”. In the summer of 2024, Swift came to Europe for concerts – including Great Britain, Italy, Poland and Germany.
Many thousands of Taylor Swift fans celebrated in downtown Vienna without their idol. The mostly young people sang the megastar’s songs, exchanged bracelets and took countless selfies. Some bars offered fans free drinks as a consolation for the loss of fun.
Swift remained silent on the subject for around two weeks – during which time she played five sold-out concerts in London. Then she wrote on Instagram that out of caution she initially wanted to remain silent until the concerts in London had taken place. “The reason for the cancellations gave me a new sense of fear and a great deal of guilt because so many people had planned to come to the shows,” Swift wrote. But she is also grateful to the authorities, “because thanks to them we mourned for concerts and not for lives.”
Yes. In 2017, a 22-year-old Islamist suicide bomber detonated an explosive device after a concert by US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester, killing 22 people. Many young people were among the victims. Around 800 people were injured or traumatized. The terrorist group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the crime.
The defendants face up to 20 years in prison. The decisive factor for the amount of the sentence is the question of whether both suspects encouraged the alleged accomplice to commit the crime in Saudi Arabia, which is considered attempted murder. For the preparation of an act of terrorism – like the Swift concert – the possible level of punishment is significantly lower. Five days of hearings are scheduled for the trial. A verdict could come on May 28th.
