Global pop star Taylor Swift has been seen in London partying with her 200 Eras Tour cast and crew at one of the most elegant clubs in the world.

The sighting, which comes on the eve of her five-concert tour at Wembley Stadium, is the first time Swift, 34, has been spotted in public since she was forced to cancel three shows in Vienna after Austrian authorities discovered a terror plot.

Authorities said a 19-year-old planned to carry out a suicide attack at the stadium where 150,000 fans were expected to attend three shows.

The youth had recently sworn a pledge to ISIS and had made a full confession after police raided his house, seizing chemicals, machetes and other devices the plotters planned to use in a bomb attack.

Fans divided

Normally astute in addressing fans directly about everything from the recent stabbing deaths of three children in Southport in the UK, to a fan who died or the infamous Ticketmaster debacle, loyal Swifties have become divided by her silence.

And by her sudden appearance before resuming her Eras world tour.

“Tone deaf”, “disappointed”, “betrayed”, “not even a love-heart emoji”?

“Right now your job is to speak to the fans affected by the Vienna cancellations. Where are you? This silence has already gone on for far too long,” wrote one of her nine million Taylor Nation Instagram followers.

“She had a party last night in London before 5 upcoming shows there. That’s the statement we’ve been waiting for. That’s how much she cares about our Vienna cancellations. Deeply devastated,” another said.

And this: “Parties in London, merch drops, posts about early [merchandise] in London but no words to the Vienna Swifties who were the target of a terrorist attack”.

Concert targets

“Throwing a party for your hardworking staff to lighten the mood before an exhausting run of shows is a pretty smart thing to do, even if at first glance it comes off a little tone deaf. But a statement for the masses would also be nice,” wrote Glamour magazine.

Given how serious the world takes terror threats right now, Swift’s alleged terror plot “is the latest in a long line of concert targets”, and her silence is no doubt well advised.

“The amount of adults whining about not getting an apology or statement regarding the Vienna shows is disturbing. A terrorist attack was thwarted, and lives were spared because of it,” wrote one US Swiftie mother, Michelle.

“That is what you need to focus on – not whether she’s spoken or had a night out to perhaps release some of that emotional turmoil that I’m sure she feels right now.”

Terrible history

Senior Lecturer of urban mobility, public safety and disaster risk at the University of New South Wales, Dr Milad Haghani says concerts have always been prime targets for terrorists seeking to inflict maximum harm.

From 1996 to 2020, at least 33 cases of “attempted or executed terror attacks targeting concerts” have been recorded globally, claiming an estimated 263 lives, he wrote on The Conversation this week.

He listed the deadly Bataclan Theatre attack in Paris in 2015, Moscow’s Crocus City concert hall attack in March and the
Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas in 2017.

That same year, a suicide bomber affiliated with IS detonated an explosive device at the end of US pop sensation Ariana Grande’s concert in Manchester, killing 22 and injuring 500 concert goers.

“Given this history, it’s not surprising Austrian authorities decided to cancel the concerts,” Haghani wrote.

Ariana Grande wipes away a tear as she performs on stage during the One Love Manchester Benefit Concert at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in June 2017. Photo: Getty

‘Avoiding tragic deja vu’

After Swift’s abrupt cancelling of the Vienna concerts at the Ernst Happel Stadium, hundreds of  fans commiserated, and sang her songs in the Austrian capital.

Some were upbeat and swapped Swift’s signature friendship bracelets, while others overcome by emotions as they hugged and cried, saying they were heartbroken.

Swift is expected to perform at London’s Wembley stadium in five concerts between August 15 and 20 to close the European leg of her record-setting Eras Tour.

UK police said there was nothing to indicate the investigation in Austria would affect her London concerts.

After suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a device as people began leaving Grande’s show at Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017, killing dozens, within 24 hours the star was determined to reach out.

“Broken … from the bottom of my heart, I am so so sorry. I don’t have words,” she wrote on Twitter.

She later performed the One Love Manchester concert a month later at the Old Trafford cricket ground, with Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Take That, Robbie Williams and Coldplay.

Haghana says “the demographic targeted in the alleged terror plot in Vienna is reminiscent of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack”.

Cancelling Swift’s concerts based on evidence of an alleged terror plot, he said, was “avoiding tragic deja vu”.

Country music singer Jason Aldean, who was performing at the Las Vegas festival when shots were fired into the crowd, posted on Instagram and penned a longer letter that touched on his fear of the current state of the world.

And the US Eagles of Death Metal band members, who performed at the Bataclan as terrorists opened fire on the crowd, killing 90 people, also posted a lengthy statement on X.

“Love overcomes evil”.