It was a somewhat tumultuous weekend for Austrian-based Taylor Swift fans, as the pop star’s slate of Eras Tour concerts were cancelled in Vienna due to security threats. To alleviate the pain, a number of art museums granted free entry to Swifties, including the MAK Vienna, MAK Geymüllerschlössel, The ALBERTINA and Mozarthaus Vienna.
Little did the institutions know the influx of fans that would actually show up from their kind gesture. ARTnews reported that thousands of Swifties flocked into the halls of various museums, clad in the pop star’s merch, trading friendship beaded bracelets with staff as they were guided on English-speaking tours. According to the Albertina, a typical day would draw in about 1,200 visitors. But the Swifties brought in a whopping 20,000 eager guests — droves of people that would only be garnered for a blockbuster exhibition.
@erastourtipss live from the albertina museum in Vienna 🫶 swifties had free entrance for those with tickets @Taylor Nation @Taylor Swift thank you to the @The ALBERTINA Museum staff who played Taylor Swift songs today including exile, white horse and all too well ❤️ #taylorswift #taylor #swift #tstheerastour #tstheerastourvienna #viennatstheerastour #vienna #erastour #fearless #speaknow #red #1989 #reputation #folklore #evermore #midnights #thetorturedpoetsdepartment #ttpd #swifties #safetyforswifties #swiftie #viennaswifties #albertina ♬ original sound – eras outfits
Playing along with the crowd, the ALBERTINA switched up the soundtrack to its galleries to play hits from Swift’s catalog, sparking a massive sing along that has since gone viral on social media. “We didn’t think about the money or the losing the money at all,” said them museum’s rep Nina Eisterer. “It was, for us, important to set like a sign for this concert that had been canceled because of this horrible reason, and to give somehow a bit of hope and say to people, ‘Hey, we know it’s devastating. You can’t go to the concert, but hey, you can enjoy a bit of of art in Vienna, that’s what we can offer you’.”
The Vienna shows were cancelled after police had arrested three extremists who had stated they were going to attack the venue. This comes after a week of social unrest in the UK, where riots transpired after a domestic terrorist murdered three little girls at a Swift-themed dance class in in Southport, North West England on July 29.
