Coldplay covers Taylor Swift at Vienna stadium where her Eras Tour shows were canceled due to foiled terror plot
Alli Rosenbloom, CNN | 8/23/2024, 11:28 a.m.
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin is showing some love for Taylor Swift supporters in Austria.
On Wednesday, the band kicked off the first of four concerts at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium where Martin, along with singer Maggie Rogers, sang an acoustic cover of Swift’s 2008 hit “Love Story.”
According to video footage posted on social media, Martin also invited “two genuine Swifties” on stage while he and Rogers performed the song.
“We sing this song with so much love for Taylor and so much love for Swifties,” Martin told the audience.
Coldplay appears to be the first major act to headline a concert at the Austrian venue since a thwarted terror attack plot caused organizers to cancel three of Swift’s Eras Tour concerts there earlier this month.
Swift was scheduled to begin the three-show run on August 9 when Austrian authorities announced they had prevented an ISIS-inspired plot to attack one of her shows there.
“The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows,” Swift wrote in a statement posted to her Instagram page on Wednesday. “But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives.”
The Grammy-winner resumed her tour last week, performing a five-night run at London’s Wembley Stadium that concluded on Tuesday.
As far as safety measures go for concertgoers attending Coldplay’s shows this week, Live Nation GSA posted a news release on X outlining the venue’s safety plan.
“The well-being of all attendees, artists, and staff is our top priority and, as always, Ernst-Happel-Stadion is coordinating with local authorities and partners in the lead-up to the concerts, to ensure the safety of everyone on site,” it read.
Coldplay is scheduled to perform three more shows in Vienna on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.