The first two episodes of the docuseries have been released The End of an Era which offers a behind-the-scenes look at Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. The first episode tells what happened in August 2024, when the pop star was forced to cancel three concerts in Vienna, Austria after the police foiled a terrorist attack.
“Never in my life would I have thought we would have to deal with terrorism,” Swift says in the docuseries, looking into the camera and wiping away tears. “We avoided a massacre,” he says and explains how he manages to continue performing when events of this kind happen that change your life. “You have to leave everything out,” he says, comparing himself to the pilot of an airplane who has to reassure passengers that everything is fine, even if it isn't exactly so.
Less than a week after the events in Vienna, Swift performed five times at Wembley Stadium in London. The first episode of The End of an Era the return to the stage follows. «I have a strange feeling as these last five shows in Europe are approaching», admits the singer before the concerts, still shaken by the events. “There's no challenge she's not ready to overcome,” says her bassist Amos Heller, who has toured with her since 2007.
In addition to calling Ed Sheeran to perform with her in the surprise set of songs, Swift reveals that the crew filming them at the time was supposed to begin filming in Vienna and says she felt scared.
When news of the failed attacks in Vienna broke, Swift was criticized online for not speaking out publicly right away. He did so only after the end of the London concerts. “I want to say it clearly: I won't express myself publicly on something if doing so could provoke those who would like to harm my fans,” Swift wrote on Instagram in those days. «My priority was to finish the European tour safely».
Also in London, the singer met the families of the victims of the stabbings that occurred in a children's dance school in Southport, during a Swift-themed event, when three little girls were killed. The series does not show the meet-and-greets, only the singer crying backstage after the meeting while her mother tries to comfort her: “You really helped them, I know.”
“My job is to be able to deal with all these emotions and cheer myself up right away,” Swift says elsewhere. At the end of the first concert of the Eras Tour in London, she is seen leaving the stadium, clearly relieved. Before getting into a van, however, he can't help but ask tour manager Robert Aleen: “Has something bad happened that I don't know about?”.
From Rolling Stone US.
