Vienna Museums Waive Entrance Fees for Taylor Swift Fans

After security threats led to the cancellation of three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna this weekend, several museums in the city are waiving admission fees as part of tourism initiatives aimed at helping mend fans’ hearts.

“Vienna is doing everything it can to ensure that the thousands of Swifties who have travelled to our city can have an unforgettable weekend. Vienna would like to thank all fans for their understanding and solidarity, whose reactions show that nothing and no one can destroy the cohesion of our society,” said Norbert Kettner, Managing Director of the Vienna Tourist Board, in a press release.

Ticket holders for Taylor Swift’s three cancelled concerts will be able to enter the Mozarthaus Vienna, the House of Music, the KunstHausWien and the Jewish Museum Vienna, the MAK Vienna (Museum of Applied Arts) and the MAK Geymüllerschlössel, the Mumok Museum of Modern Art, the Albertina Print Museum and the Strauss House Museum for free this weekend. The Museumquartier is also offering Taylor Swift ticket holders free guided tours in English and German on 10 and 11 August.

Brooklyn-based independent film producer and director Waverly Colville said: ARTnews She had purchased her concert tickets more than a year ago and learned of the cancellation of the concerts due to security concerns the day before she was scheduled to leave Stockholm, Sweden. After Colville and her band decided to continue their trip to Vienna, Colville saw social media posts of other fans gathering to sing songs, as well as offers from museums and businesses posted on Instagram by the Vienna Tourist Board.

“I felt like everyone was doing everything they could to make sure that everyone in the city had a good time in Vienna, you know, even though this unfortunate event happened,” she said.

Colville hadn’t planned on coming to town, other than to see the concert, and ended up visiting the Mozart Museum. “Honestly, if the Mozart Museum wasn’t free and they had a big promotion to let people in for free, I don’t know if I would have gone,” she said, noting that she grew up playing the violin. “It was really cool to be able to have an experience that I might not have otherwise had.”

According to Colville, who was working at the time New Yorker And ESPNThe Mozart Museum was filled with easily identifiable Taylor Swift fans. “The Mozart Museum was filled with a lot of young women who were her main target audience, wearing friendship bracelets, T-shirts, all that,” she said. “I don’t think that would have been the case if the concert hadn’t been canceled and the museum had given us free admission. I felt like it brought in a lot of people who probably wouldn’t have gone under normal circumstances.”

“The streets, the museum, all the restaurants filled with people wearing Taylor Swift T-shirts or friendship bracelets, or accessories, or sparkly outfits that you could imagine they were planning to wear to the concert,” Colville said.

In addition to free admission to museums, deals for Taylor Swift fans include free meals at burger joints, gifts from crystal company Swarovski at its retail stores and free admission to the Stadiobad outdoor pool.

Hundreds of fans wearing Taylor Swift merchandise have regularly gathered at Stephansplatz, a public square in the city center near several museums, to sing Taylor Swift songs and exchange friendship bracelets. One couple even proposed there, surrounded by fans.

In addition to seeing Gustav Klimt’s painting The Kiss At Belvedere Palace, Colville said she likely will visit other museums offering free admission in the city before her trip is over. “It feels like we have nothing to lose,” she said. “I think it would be a waste not to take advantage of it and see as much as we can.”