Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Maggie Rogers Pay Tribute to Taylor Swift in Vienna with Cover of ‘Love Story’

Two weeks after Taylor Swift was forced to cancel a series of concerts at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium after authorities uncovered a terror plot, Coldplay’s Chris Martin paid tribute to the singer by covering one of her most beloved songs during his band’s concert at the venue on Wednesday night (August 21).

On the Music of the Spheres satellite stage at the 65,000-capacity stadium, with Maggie Rogers opening, Martin said, “If it’s not good, please don’t put it on YouTube because I don’t want to get in trouble with Taylor.” He then asked the crowd to help him out by singing an acoustic version of Swift’s 2008 hit “Wonderful.” Intrepid classic “Love Story”.

“We sing this song with a lot of love for Taylor, with a lot of love for the Swifties,” Martin said after finding two “real Swifties” to join him on stage to help him pay tribute. “And we sing this song with love for the young people who have been brainwashed to do stupid things and we send them our love as well.”

Martin belted out the Romeo and Juliet-inspired lyrics while strumming an acoustic guitar as the stadium crowd provided vocal support, with Rogers joining in on the second verse before taking up the dreamy chorus. She even briefly passed her mic to the two excited fans for some vocal help during the special moment, which came on the same day Swift first addressed the “devastating” terrorist threat in a statement.

“The reason for the cancellations has left me feeling a new sense of fear and guilt because so many people had planned to come to these shows,” Swift said of the foiled plot to target the August 8-10 concerts. Authorities say the main teenage plotter admitted he planned to attack the Swifties with knives and explosives outside the venue to inflict maximum casualties.

“But I was also so grateful to the authorities, because thanks to them we were mourning concerts, not lives,” Swift added. “I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who came together. I decided that all my energy had to be devoted to helping protect the half a million people who came to see the concerts in London. My team and I worked hand in hand with the stadium staff and the British authorities every day to achieve this goal, and I want to thank them for everything they did for us.”

According to a fan videoMartin explained why he chose to cover the song in the intro: “We didn’t mention that Vienna was in the news all over the world for all the wrong reasons. But what touched us was the beauty and the solidarity and the kindness of all the Taylor Swift fans. So we thought, of course Taylor is in America, she’s not here, but we’re here, so we have to do our best. I don’t want you to think that we don’t care about the Swifties in our group.”

Last month, Coldplay dedicated a performance of their 2016 song “Everglow” to Taylor Swift at a concert in Düsseldorf, just days after Taylor played in Gelsenkirchen. “This is for Taylor Swift because she left town,” Martin said during the concert at the Merkur Spiel-Arena. “This is for all of you who are sad today because Taylor had to leave for the next town. So we sing this love song, this heartbreaking song, and we send it to Taylor wherever she is today.”

Swift wrapped up her five-show run at London’s Wembley Stadium on Tuesday, ending the European leg of her Eras tour. Authorities in Vienna said they arrested three suspects in the case, the main suspect, a 19-year-old who was allegedly radicalized online and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, as well as an 18-year-old man who also allegedly pledged allegiance to the ISIS terror group and a 17-year-old boy who was allegedly hired by a company that provided services to the venue for concerts just a week earlier.

Rogers shared a clip of the cover on her Instagram, writing: “From Vienna with love (three heart emoji) @coldplay @taylorswift.”

Check out a clip from the cover of “Love Story” below.