A Taylor Swift fan wearing multiple beaded bracelets holds the door of The Albertina museum in Vienna, Austria.
Unexpected Museum Influx
Thousands of Taylor Swift fans flooded museums in Vienna over the weekend after multiple institutions waived entry fees following the cancellation of three of the singer’s concerts due to security threats. “We weren’t really sure what to expect,” Haus der Musik managing director Simon Posch told ARTnews.
Participating Institutions
The participating institutions included the Mozarthaus Vienna, House of Music, KunstHausWien, Jewish Museum Vienna, MAK Vienna (Museum of Applied Arts), MAK Geymüllerschlössel, Mumok (modern art museum), The Albertina, and the museum at the House of Strauss. The Museumsquartier also offered Taylor Swift ticket holders free guided tours in English and German on August 10 and 11. The initiative was publicized through the Vienna Tourist Board and statements by the city’s mayor, Michael Ludwig, especially on social media.
A Pleasant Surprise for Museums
Several museum professionals in Vienna told ARTnews that the influx of visitors was a pleasant surprise. The demographics were mostly English-speaking young women, often between the ages of 18 to 25, who had traveled from as far as China, South Africa, Australia, Canada, and the United States. Many were easily identifiable by their concert merchandise, colorful outfits, and arms covered in friendship bracelets intended for trading with other fans.
The Albertina’s Swiftie Surge
The Albertina fully embraced the moment, waiving its €19.90 regular entrance fee (€15.90 for visitors under 26 years) for more than 20,000 Swifties between Thursday, August 8 and Sunday, August 11. “On a normal and regular weekend, we would have, I would say 2,000 a day,” spokesperson Nina Eisterer told ARTnews, noting that these visitor numbers are usually reserved for blockbuster exhibitions like the one for Claude Monet in 2018.
Eisterer mentioned that she and her colleagues in The Albertina’s marketing division were Swifties themselves, with several planning to attend the concerts and devastated by the cancellations. After the idea for waived entry fees was approved, the art museum’s security and ticketing teams were informed on August 6 that additional staff would be needed.
The line for Swifties at The Albertina was so long that some fans stood outside in the sun and 91°F heat for approximately 20 minutes. “But there was no fuss about it,” Eisterer said. “People were super nice.” The museum even switched the soundtracks playing in its 20 historical staterooms from classical music to Taylor Swift albums, prompting several large singalongs that went viral on TikTok.
Other Museums Join the Fun
Other institutions also saw an unexpected bump in activity. For the Haus der Musik, 2,746 Swifties visited between August 8 and August 11, compared to its usual €17 fee for adults and €13 for students under 27. This accounted for almost half of the total number of visitors (5,862). The singer’s fans also boosted gift shop sales by €4,500 ($4,918.88) over the weekend.
Mozarthaus Vienna reported 2,663 Swiftie visitors between August 9 and August 11, requiring additional staff on Saturday and Sunday. “Due to the large number of Swifties, guided tours in English were spontaneously added,” spokesperson Jasmine Wolfram told ARTnews.
Mumok’s head of press, Katharina Murschetz, said 884 Taylor Swift fans visited, while Eva Grundschober, the spokesperson for Capuchin’s Crypt, reported “exactly 500 Swifties” using the option for free tickets. Josef Gaschnitz, the CFO of the Jüdisches Museum der Stadt, said visitor numbers were “over 100% more” than on normal days, with a 50% increase in gift shop sales and a similar boost in their bistro.
A Social Media-Driven Initiative
Multiple people told ARTnews that social media played a major role in informing Swifties of the “super last-minute decision” to offer free entry to the city’s museums. “100%,” said Posch, a self-professed Taylor Swift fan. “I think social media is the only way to reach this target group, because it didn’t help if the Austrian National Broadcasting System showed it in the evening news and they put it on their web page. None of these kids is going to visit the ORF home page. Social media just reaches the audience in the fastest possible way. And then it goes viral.”
Beyond the Financials
While the initiative may have temporarily impacted museum revenues from entry fees, museum staff told ARTnews that the benefits outweighed the costs, including increased merchandise sales, publicity, and greater accessibility to younger visitors.
“We didn’t think about the money or losing the money at all,” Eisterer said, acknowledging that entry fees can be very expensive for young people. “It was important to set a sign for this concert that had been canceled because of this horrible reason, and to give people a bit of hope. We wanted to say, ‘Hey, we know it’s devastating. You can’t go to the concert, but you can enjoy a bit of art in Vienna, that’s what we can offer you.’”
Extending the Offer
Some museums, like the Haus of Musik and The Albertina, planned on extending the free entry offer to Swifties for one or two days beyond the weekend. “We will definitely still give them free access if they come with the Taylor Swift ticket,” Posch said. “If they didn’t make it on the weekend and they’re still here, there’ll be no discussion—they’ll be our guests.”
