Germany Swift fan heartbroken, but wise: Life more important than show

Cameron Menesi is 18 years old and a super Swiftie - an ardent fan of US superstar Taylor Swift for ten years, and heartbroken that the concerts in Vienna have been canceled.

"It was my biggest dream to go to a Swift concert," she tells the German Press Agency, her voice choked with tears. "We got the tickets exactly a year ago and I was looking forward to it every single day." Menesi lives with her family in California and had come to Vienna especially for the concert.

The three of them wanted to go to one of the three Swift concerts at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna this Friday. All three shows were canceled after arrests by Islamists who wanted to cause a bloodbath there.

Life more important than a concert

Her mother Monique Menesi can understand why the concerts were canceled. "You can't imagine being at the concert and something happening." Daughter Cameron also says: "Life is more important than a concert." But the enthusiasm for the superstar is so great that she would say yes immediately if she could get a ticket for another Swift concert.

According to the family, they have invested thousands of dollars. "We wouldn't have flown to Europe otherwise," says Monique Menesi. The whole trip was planned around the concert. "We pay 350 euros a night for a simple Airbnb room in Vienna just to be here." The tickets were the least of it: they only cost 150 euros, compared to several thousand euros for Swift concerts in the USA and Canada, the Menesis say.

No desire for Swift parties

Monique and Cameron Menesi do not want to attend Swift parties in Vienna. "We will explore the city and meet other Swifties for sure," said Monique Menesi. "But we're not in the mood for clubs and partying." Cameron Menesi has just finished high school and took a year off before university. She will soon be starting an internship at a vacation club in the Canary Islands.

SDA