Chris Martin of Coldplay surprised fans by performing a cover of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” during a show at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium on August 7. The performance came after Swift had to cancel her Vienna concerts due to a security threat.
Before starting the cover, Martin joked, “If this is not good, please, please don’t put it on YouTube because I don’t want to get in trouble with Taylor,” and was later joined on stage by Maggie Rogers for the rendition.
The cancellations were announced the day before Swift’s scheduled Vienna shows on August 8, following the arrest of several individuals linked to the terrorist group ISIS. The touring company stated, “With confirmation from the government officials of a planned terrorist attack… we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.”
Taylor Swift addressed the cancellation publicly for the first time on Instagram, expressing her sadness and explaining her previous silence. “Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating. 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,” she wrote. She also expressed gratitude to the authorities, stating, “Thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives.”
Swift added, “In cases like this one, ‘silence’ is actually showing restraint, and waiting to express yourself at a time when it’s right to. My priority was finishing our European tour safely, and it is with great relief that I can say we did that.”
