Taylor swift concert worries

[Janie54]

So my 12yr old was due to go to one of the concerts at Wembley next week with my 30 year old step daughter. I’d really rather they didnt didn’t go due to all the unrest in the uk and the recent Austria events. I’ve tried to explain this to her and she is now very upset and still g I am running her life. Such a difficult situation as a mum. And advice would be helpful.

You can’t live your life in fear!

Let her go and have the time of her life.

Arena security has been so tight since the Ariana Grande gig in Manchester. I've been to countless arena gigs in the UK before and after then. First time I went to Manchester after that awful tragedy I was uneasy- but having seen how locked down everything is it feels very safe now.
Went to gig at the new arena in Manchester not long ago- it is very like going through airport security! we can't stay and hide at home with our kids wrapped in cotton wool- much as we would like to sometimes.
Go and enjoy life- security has never been so tight it will be fine and an amazing experience.

As shocking as it is to hear considering what happened there but security at the manchester arena where the Ariana grande bombing happened is now practically none existant. Yes at first for a while after the bombing they implemented full on airport style security. That is now all gone and for my last 2 concerts there we just walked in with no security checks whatsoever, infact a couple set in the row infront of us had taken their own cans of Alcoholic drinks in so now metal detector checks or bag searches at all. it was actually shocking and unnerving how lax it had become. It wasn't just our experience as others attending different events there also said there were no security checks whatsoever.

Attending a concert didn't become less safe after Austria. If something , it shows that risks are monitored and actions taken, including largely unpopular ones.

Agree it is so easy to extrapolate out that because this happened everything after must be unsafe.

she was absolutely right to cancel the austria concerts because it is clear r there was a terrorism plot. Nothing in that though says there was a coordinated attack to hit multiple Taylor swift concerts and that actually doesn’t make sense because if successful there would be no more to hit.

I have no doubt that if there were then we will hear and dates cancelled.

mine will be going because we cannot live in fear of what might happen, if something comes out before Thursday there is a small chance that might change but weirdly I always feel it is just after that is the safest and you can’t miss life on what ifs.

I was in London on the 7/7 and on the Monday I got back on the tube. I got back on a plane after 9/11 and I will continue moving forward because being hit by a car is a far more likely prospect and I am not going to stop leaving the house

Op I worry too but the only way is to live your lives. You can spend your life hiding or choose to live it, sensibly and rationally. Statisically, the road travel there is more dangerous

I'm desperate to get two tickets for my daughters! If we had them we'd be going without any worry

Let her go. Bags are checked thoroughly. It’s as safe as anything can be. I get the anxiety but try not to let your fears pass on to her. The world is so shit I really worry about this next generation’s mental health.

It's normal to feel anxious, ultimately the plot in Vienna was thwarted by the intelligence services and no one was harmed even though it was being actively planned. Taylors team, Scotland Yard, the intelligence services will be very risk adverse after this and as they always are following Manchester.

Of course sadly things slip through, but in addition to this, football was on at Wembley yesterday and according to attendees there was even more police presence than normal (there's always a tonne) along with better searches. There'll be more info nearer the time, but apparently any bags above a certain time people had to put into lockers and pick up at the end rather than take in. People have never been able to congregate outside of the stadium and the area surrounding it is well controlled as well which gives another layer.

Even though there's been no direct threat or heightened threat against the London dates, it looks like they're building on the existing high level of security for these dates. It doesn't seem any more risky than anywhere else in London tbh.

I'm going with my DD. My DH is from NI. Lived through the troubles. If I said I wasn't going he would think I was crazy. Don't let them win.

My daughter wouldn’t be going either.

I think it’s easy to say “ my daughter wouldn’t be going “ if you haven’t actually got tickets. It seems like an easy decision. I do have tickets and I will be going with my DD12. I can only imagine what not going would be like - I doubt she’d speak to me again.

My DD and friend are going - they are late teens. Security will be really tight now and you can’t stop them going to these things. Sadly threats are everywhere and we won’t always know about them.

MN is the worst place to ask for advice on this because it seems to be anxiety central. I have seriously never seen another place where unreasonable anxieties are being reaffirmed so readily.
The daughters are going to a venue with massive security and will likely be much safer than anywhere else.

I can understand your anxiety OP but life is full of worry when your children start going out into the world. Worry and over thinking is part and parcel of being a loving parent. I know, I've been there, when my teenager went to their first party, first festival, first club etc. It's hard but you can't protect them from everything, they need to have fun and learn to be part of the world as it is.

If anyone has seated tickets they'd like to sell me , because they have decided to not go...I'd be very interested.
My dsd missed going to the date she had tickets for as she was unwell.
She isn't well enough for standing so need seated tickets .

Are people missing that Taylor Swift has already done many concerts in Edinburgh and Liverpool (and maybe somewhere else, I forget) without any issue whatsoever?

Not about that it's the bombing threats.

My DD, DIL and soon to be DIL are going.

Of course I am worried but I suspect it will probably be incredibly secure and I should probably be more worried about them taking the tube home so late or getting pick pocketed.

Nothing is risk free.

I'm going with my DD.
Yes, will be perhaps more vigilant than usual but the security will be very tight. They are bringing in extra police, security checks and specially trained dogs.
I've lived in London for a very long time, including during July 2005 terrorist attacks. I refuse to let fear stop me and my family from doing things I like and live my life.

As we have already discovered. Your kids are no safer going to a local dance class. So what’s the answer? Keep them home permanently and allow them to do nothing?
Of course it isn’t. Security will be higher than ever and they are likely to be the safest place to be. I won’t have mine or my kids lives disrupted by what ifs. No one should live like that.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and comments

You're safer at Wembley than she would be in a local shopping centre or cinema. They check everything when people enter - they aren't even allowed caps on plastic bottles of water. Tiny little bags, all checked. Metal detectors, security all over the place. After Ariana Grande nobody's taking chances. And Wembley are geared for football hooligans.

This is a concert largely of young women in sparkles from head to toe. It's apparently very special - the friend who went says it was an atmosphere unlike any she's known, just from the energy of the crowd. This concert is likely to be one that takes a really special place in our cultural history and being able to say she was there in years to come will also be special for her - like the Rolling Stones at Hyde Park, or Live Aid, this one has slotted into the cultural zeitgeist as things rarely do, and whether people sneer at Swift or not, that's a fact. There are so many thousands of people desperate for tickets - and she has one. That's amazing. Don't take that from her.

I'm due to go next week. It will be my 2nd show. Security at many previous venues was practically non existent, despite venue rules so hopefully they do step that up and take it seriously. I was slightly worried after Southport, with Vienna it has increased. However it's OK to be anxious/nervous but I just can't let it take over and I do plan to attend. It has definitely soured the excitement somewhat.

What I do think is interesting is no statement from Taylor or Taylor Nation yet. I can't say 100% certainty it's going ahead until I have read it from either of them, despite what the police/mayor says. She is always very responsive with her posts so lack of one tells me there is obviously lots going on behind the scenes re upcoming shows. And the longer it goes, the more it worries me.

Taylor is notorious for not cancelling shows and to preemptively cancel shows that will put her in the record books would be a massive deal that I think would only be done if absolutely necessary.