By Larisha Paul. Beaded friendship bracelets hang from the branches of the trees and bushes lining Corneliusgasse, a street in Vienna. Hundreds of Taylor Swift fans have been passing through the narrow area in the lead-up to the Eras tour touching down in Austria this week. Today, there was a swarm. Swifties were hoping to be singing, dancing, and trading friendship bracelets just a few miles away at Ernst Happel Stadium — but all three Eras tour performances scheduled in the city were canceled after authorities arrested two Austrian teenagers accused of planning to execute a terror attack at the venue.
In a moment of fear, fans turned the trading tree into a centerpiece for finding community. On Tuesday, Striano flew into Vienna from Milan for the tour and was in her hotel room when she received news that the shows had been canceled. Striano felt a mix of sadness and disappointment but also a sense of relief that the plot was discovered before anyone could be harmed. The year-old and year-old suspects who were arrested were allegedly planning to carry out an attack on either Thursday or Friday, the first two days of the Eras tour in Vienna.
Materials that could be used to build a bomb were uncovered at the home of the year-old, who authorities say was inspired by ISIS. Within hours, everything can change, and that is why we should enjoy and celebrate every moment we have.
This seems to have been the ethos driving Swifties, who sought community with one another in the streets of Vienna following the cancellation. For fans and spectators alike, the decision to congregate in hundreds-deep crowds less than 24 hours after being informed of a thwarted terrorist attack seemed illogical at best and incredibly dangerous at worst.
Taylor Swift fans gather in Vienna to sing together after Eras Tour shows were cancelled due to a now-foiled terror plot. Silvia Sena, 37, arrived in Vienna this week from Seattle, more than 5, miles away.
