Taylor Swift’s “Lover Fest” will be something to love in 2021. The singer’s reps announced Friday that the remaining shows she had scheduled for this summer, including a handful of dates on the east and west coast in the United States, are being pushed back to next year.
“I’m so sad I won’t be able to see you guys in concert this year, but I know this is the right decision,” the singer wrote on her Twitter account. “Please, please stay healthy and safe. I’ll see you on stage as soon as I can but right now what’s important is committing to this quarantine, for the sake of all of us.”
The move comes as little surprise, considering the growing awareness that the world may face most or all of a summer free of sanctioned live performances, at least in front of audiences. The date Swift had been set to play in England at the Glastonbury Festival was already canceled a month ago, and several other European stadium shows had already been taken off the books as well.
Much of the music industry has been in a quandary about whether to offer refunds for postponed shows, a tough hit to take all at once for an already reeling business, or ask fans to keep their tickets until new dates are announced and face the wrath of customers who just want their money back. In Swift’s case, refunds are being offered — although, with the singer only having announced a handful of concerts this year instead of a full-scale tour, it’s likely most fans will choose to hold onto the hard-fought tickets.
“Fighting COVID-19 is an unprecedented challenge for our global community, and the safety and well-being of fans should always be the top priority,” read the statement from Swift’s camp. “Health organizations and governments around the world have strongly discouraged large public gatherings for an undetermined period of time. With many events throughout the world already cancelled, and upon direction from health officials in an effort to keep fans safe and help prevent the spread of COVID-19, sadly the decision has been made to cancel all Taylor Swift live appearances and performances this year.”
The scheduled dates that were officially canceled Friday were July 25-26 in Inglewood, California (at the still under construction SoFi Stadium, a venue that might have had a hard time opening in time for those shows now anyhow), July 31-August 1 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and July 18-19 in Brazil.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Variety