Taylor Swift Once Named Concert Attacks As Her 'Biggest Fear'

Long before the Vienna stops of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour were targeted by a planned terrorist attack earlier this week, the pop star had already revealed that such a terrifying event is her "biggest fear."

As The Blast reported, two men were arrested on Wednesday in connection with plans to target major events in Vienna, including Swift's highly anticipated concerts. One of those men was a 19-year-old who had allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS.

Following the threats, the Taylor Swift concerts scheduled for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were canceled.

Long before her Eras Tour's Vienna stops were targeted this week, Swift admitted that her "biggest fear" was a concert attack.

In a 2019 interview with ELLE, Swift said, "After the Manchester Arena bombing and the Vegas concert shooting. I was completely terrified to go on tour this time because I didn’t know how we were going to keep 3 million fans safe over seven months."

"There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense, and effort put into keeping my fans safe," she said at the time, adding that her "fear of violence" also carried over "into my personal life."

The singer-songwriter has had her fair share of stalkers over the years, including one who was detained just moments before she took the stage in Gelsenkirchen.

"I carry QuikClot army grade bandage dressing, which is for gunshot or stab wounds. Websites and tabloids have taken it upon themselves to post every home address I’ve ever had online," she told ELLE in 2019. "You get enough stalkers trying to break into your house and you kind of start prepping for bad things."

The "22" singer continued, "Every day I try to remind myself of the good in the world, the love I’ve witnessed and the faith I have in humanity. We have to live bravely in order to truly feel alive, and that means not being ruled by our greatest fears."

Earlier this week, Vienna State Police Director Franz Ruf and Police Chief Gerhard Purstl announced that the men arrested on suspicion of the planned attack had taken "specific preparatory actions for a terrorist attack" and were planning to target Swift's concerts.

On Thursday, Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of Austria's Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, confirmed that the 19-year-old suspect had admitted to planning a horrific attack at Taylor Swift’s concert using "explosives and knives."

In total, three teenagers have been arrested in connection with the attack, with allegations that they all had plotted it. Their plans reportedly involved driving a car into groups of Swift fans outside the concert venue, and they were also found to have homemade explosives.

Swift, who was scheduled to perform on August 8, 9, and 10 at Vienna's Ernst-Happel-Stadion, was compelled to cancel the Austrian leg of her Eras Tour after Austrian authorities uncovered a terror plot targeting her concerts.

Sources revealed to the Mirror that Swift was "horrified" by the threat of a potential terror attack and decided she could not risk the safety of her fans.

"Taylor has been devastated by this," the source said. "She is devastated for the fans who have been waiting for years to see her. But the thought of what could have happened if the concerts had been targeted by a terror attack is horrifying, and she would never risk the safety of her fans."

Despite the unsettling incident, Swift reportedly plans to return to Vienna for rescheduled shows. "But she has told her team that she wants to try to return to Vienna as soon as possible in the future," the source added. "She is very conscious of how disappointed her fans in Austria are."

The Eras Tour has mesmerized audiences by showcasing the evolution of Swift's music through her various albums, or "Eras," spanning from her debut self-titled album to her most recent releases. Authorities had estimated that around 65,000 fans would attend each of the "Shake It Off" artist's Vienna shows.

All ticket holders will receive a full refund.