Some tragedies never truly leave us.
And for Taylor Swift, the terror plot that forced her to cancel her Vienna Eras Tour dates in August 2024 as well as the stabbing that occurred one month earlier at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop—which led to the deaths of three young girls—both left a permanent mark.
As Taylor put it during the first episode of her new docuseries, Taylor Swift: The End of an Era, “Never in my life did I think we would have a terrorist plot.”
The scheme left an impact on Taylor, with the 35-year-old detailing her fear heading into her last shows in Europe following the incident.
“Basically, it’s just kind of a weird feeling going into these last five shows in Europe, because we’ve done like 128 shows so far but this is the first one where I feel like I’m skating on thin ice," she said. "We’ve had a series of very violent, scary things happen to the tour.”
She later added, "I've been performing for twenty years. From a mental standpoint, being afraid something is going to happen to your fans at any moment—this is a new challenge."
Amid her inner turmoil, Taylor turned to longtime friend Ed Sheeran for comfort, sharing with him her struggles in returning to the Eras Tour stage.
"I just need to do this show, remember the joy of it," she explained, telling him of her upcoming two-month break after the London shows, "I'm just gonna go somewhere no one can find me. I just don't want to be tracked like an animal. I just have felt very hunted lately."
It was during the docuseries’ chronicling of the Southport stabbing, however, that Taylor broke down in tears first while recalling the situation, and then again after meeting with the families of the victims from the July 2024 attack.
Her mother, Andrea Swift, assured her, "I know you helped them. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I know you helped them."
Immediately following the stabbing attack—which occurred at a yoga class and dance workshop for young children themed around her music—Taylor shared a public statement expressing her grief.
“The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously, and I’m just completely in shock…,” she wrote on her Instagram Story the following day. “The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families, and first responders.”
She continued, “These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”
It was just weeks later that Taylor hosted the families at one of her tour stops in London, treating them to a meet and greet where she spent time with both the kids and parents.
While both the terror plot and the stabbing attack turned Taylor’s world on its head, the three Vienna concert dates marked the only cancellations across the nearly two-year Eras Tour.
For the Life of a Showgirl artist, her goal was always to give back to the fans who had given her so much.
“When I’m on tour, especially the Eras Tour, I make a decision at the beginning of the tour that there’s no option to not go on stage,” she told Stephen Colbert during a Dec. 10 appearance on The Late Show. “I think it’s also about knowing there’s something bigger than you.”
In the case of the Eras Tour, she explained, it was knowing how much money her fans had spent, the time they’d taken off work or school, the distances they’d traveled and the friendship bracelets they’d made that led her to commit, “I’m doing the show.”
For more from the first two episodes of The End of an Era, read on.
Taylor Met With Southport Attack Survivors, Families of the Victims
In the first episode of The End of an Era, Taylor Swift addressed the cancellation of her Aug. 2024 concerts in Vienna, Austria, after they were targeted in a terror plot. (Two men were arrested in connection to the planned attack.)
"We've had a series of very violet, scary things happen to the tour," Taylor said. "We dodged, like, a massacre situation. And so, I've just been kind of all over the place."
The incident came just days after three children were killed in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, England.
An emotional Taylor shared through tears, "I have a hard time explaining it."
Following the tragedy, Taylor privately met with survivors and families of the victims of the Southport attack backstage at her Wembley shows.
The docuseries captured Taylor and mom Andrea Swift in tears after one meeting, with Andrea telling her daughter, "I know you helped them. I know it doesn't seem like it but I know you helped them."
Taylor Told Ed Sheeran She Felt "Very Hunted"
Before taking the stage at Wembley Stadium after the recent tragedies, Taylor struggled with her nerves.
"I just need to do this show," she told pal Ed Sheeran backstage, "remember the joy of it."
Taylor went on to explain that after she wraps up her Wembley concerts she'll have two months off.
"I'm just gonna go somewhere no one can find me," she shared after Ed inquired about her plans. "I just don't want to be tracked like an animal. I just have felt very hunted lately."
Taylor Gave "Bonus Day" Checks to Her Tour Family
The End of an Era officially confirmed that "as each leg of the tour" concluded, Taylor gave bonuses to every crew member, dancer and musician.
"Bonus day is so important," Taylor noted, "because setting a precedent with The Eras Tour is really important to me."
"If the tour grosses more, they get more of a bonus," she continued. "And these people just work so hard and they are the best at what they do. So, every single person on the crew, I've handwritten them a note. It took me a couple weeks, but it's fun to write the notes."
And Taylor was on hand to deliver those notes, which brought her team to tears.
Travis Kelce Was "Scouring the Internet" During Eras Tour Shows
When Travis Kelce wasn't in the audience or onstage with Taylor, the NFL player was, like many fans, trying to find details about The Eras Tour shows online.
"I want to be there!" Travis told Taylor during a sweet phone call before her Wembley shows. "I'm gonna be scouring the internet."
Emma Stone Played a Role in The Eras Tour
While putting The Eras Tour together, Taylor turned to a longtime pal for guidance.
"With choreography, I asked one of my friends, Emma Stone, who's done a lot of work in dance in her films, 'Who have you worked with that you would recommend for this?'" Taylor recalled. "And she's like, 'There's only one person that needs to be on your list and it's Mandy Moore.'"
Choreographer Mandy Moore, not to be confused with actress Mandy Moore, worked with Emma on 2016's La La Land.
How Taylor Kept Eras Tour Surprises Under Wraps
To avoid any surprise songs or performances, like "Florida!!!" with Florence Welch, getting leaked, Taylor and her band would turn down the volume on the PA system during rehearsals and practice "quietly" so that fans waiting outside stadiums couldn't hear.
"It is so much extra work to keep things a surprise," Taylor said in "Magic of the Eras," the second episode of the docuseries. "Let me tell ya, I need a nap just thinking about it. But it's so worth it when we can actually pull it off."