Utahns in Vienna reflect on cancelled Taylor Swift tour dates
Aug 8, 2024, 4:31 PM | Updated: 5:47 pm
Some Utahns who made the trip overseas to see popular star Taylor Swift in concert are having a bit of a “cruel summer.”
“Red is my favorite album,” Gabrielle Fitisemanu, 14, and her mother Lucia Fitisemanu made the trip to Vienna, Austria, to see Swift in concert. Fitisemanu and her husband planned the trip as a surprise.
“I didn’t know until two days ago,” Gabrielle said. She even had her outfit picked out for Friday’s concert. But never in their wildest dreams did the mother-and-daughter duo think Swift’s concert would be canceled.
“I had just woken up. I was confused. I was a little numb, and then it sank in,” Gabrielle said.
Promoters were forced to cancel Swift’s three-day Vienna stop after authorities said they foiled a planned terror attack.
Suspects in foiled attack on Taylor Swift shows were inspired by Islamic State group, officials say
Fitisemanu said she was able to get a refund on the tickets, but flying to Austria was the biggest expense.
“The reason why we came here, because in the U.S., it costs as much as plane to Vienna, so we paid very little for a ticket,” she said.
Fitisemanu however is grateful for how quickly authorities stepped in. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen.”
Fans, however, are hoping to shake it off.
“It’s been heartbreaking to see fans who’ve been waiting years and years to go to a concert,” said Tess Bohne of Weber. She streams Swift’s concerts online for people who can’t see them in person.
“I’ve seen so many Swifties get together and be like, ‘OK, we have extra codes for London, or I’m going to this many nights, and I want to give you one of my tickets,” Bohne said “I’ve been able to actually help probably five or six people who … come to me and be like, ‘Hey, I have an extra ticket or My sister can’t come anymore. Can you … help connect me to someone so I can gift this ticket?”
As for Gabrielle and her mom, they said they are planning on visiting different sights around Austria.
“I’m going to try and have a lot of fun,” Gabrielle said.
