Clayton FreemanJacksonville Florida Times-Union
For many people, the top question for theJacksonville Jaguars'preseason NFL opener against the Kansas City Chiefs isn't aboutTrevor Lawrenceand his performance with thathuge contract.Ortwo-time MVP Patrick Mahomes. Or how the Jags' defensive scheme will look undernew coordinator Ryan Nielsen.
Instead: Is Taylor Swift coming to Jacksonville?
Wherever the Chiefs are traveling, it's a question that has become inevitable.
That's because Swift, whoserelationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelcehas been headline material for the past year across the United States for nearly a full year, has traveled to watch the AFC West team's games for much of the past year,including the Super Bowl.
Many fans speculated thatSwift might come to Jacksonvillefor last year's Week 2 game at EverBank Stadium on Sept. 17, 2023, but she didn't make the trip on that occasion.
Is Taylor Swift coming to Jacksonville for the Jaguars-Chiefs preseason game?
As recently as the start of the week, the answer was short: No.
But the singer's schedule has changed. Keep reading.
A schedule for Swifties:Taylor Swift could make it to quite a few Chiefs games this season. See the list
What was Taylor Swift's original plan for tonight?
Instead of Jacksonville, Taylor Swift was scheduled to spend her Saturday night on theother side of the AtlanticOcean.
Think a little lessLynyrd Skynyrd,a little more Mozart.
The pop star was scheduled to finish a three-night stretch of touring (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) at Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, Austria, part of the European portion of her worldwide tour. The stadium has held numerous major sports events, including the 1995 UEFA Champions League final and the Euro 2008 championship game in soccer.
That followed stops in Germany in Hamburg and Munich at the end of July; a three-night stay in Warsaw, Poland, in the opening week of August; and then a span of five concerts in six nights at London's Wembley Stadium between Aug. 15-20.
Taylor Swift concert canceled: What happened in Vienna?
All three of Taylor Swift's concerts in Austria were canceled Wednesday, after the arrest of two suspects in connection with a terror plot. Austrian authorities arrested a third individual Friday.
The Vienna Federal Ministry of the Interior said a 19-year-old had planned an attack involving "bladed weapons as well as the construction of a bomb" and his residence included "chemical substances, liquids, explosive and technical devices that could be used to manufacture explosives" as well as machetes and instructions for bomb construction. Austrian officials said the suspect had pledged allegiance to ISIS, and he reportedly confessed that he intended to kill Swift fans.
Plans for Swift's London concerts remain unchanged. That, in theory, means the singer would have time to travel to Jacksonville for Kelce's preseason opener against the Jaguars, then return to London with plenty of time before the Aug. 15 concert.
As of Friday, Swift has given no indication that she plans to come to Jacksonville for Saturday's football. So, for now, it's one for the "So you're saying there's a chance" file.
Even if Swift does indeed spend her Saturday on the European side of the Atlantic, those who occupy the Venn diagram intersection of Swifties and Jaguars fans need not despair.
Although the Jags won't face Kansas City during the regular season, there's still a chance that the Chiefs — and possibly Swift along with them — could come to Jacksonville for a playoff game in January 2025.
For that to happen, the Jaguars first would need to qualify for the postseason, most likely winning the AFC South Division, and would need to hold home field advantage by way of superior seeding for a playoff game against Kansas City. That would bring the Chiefs, back-to-back Super Bowl champions, to EverBank Stadium.
And if the Jags aren't able to nail down a home playoff game and miss out on the chance to meet the Chiefs in Jacksonville? Just one more item to add to the franchise's "Would've, Could've, Should've" list.
When has Taylor Swift performed in Jacksonville?
Swift has made three musical stops on the First Coast. The first came on Aug. 10, 2007, when she performed inside Veterans Memorial Arena in a concert headlined by Brad Paisley.
The Times-Union's comment on her first Jacksonville appearance: "It's going to be interesting to see what happens to her career in the next few years."
She played the same venue onMay 1, 2009, along with Kellie Pickler — also a performer in the 2007 Jacksonville concert — as a stop on herFearless tour.
Swift's most recent Jacksonville concert came onNov. 11, 2011, part of herSpeak Now tour.Fans waited in lineoutside the arena beginning at 6 a.m. to watch a performance highlighted by "ballet dancers and flying stages and aerial acrobats swinging from enormous bells."
While her current Eras Tour covers five continents, the tour's closest approaches to Jacksonville were Tampa and Atlanta in 2023. She is still scheduled to perform at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium from Oct. 18-20.
Jacksonville is the only AFC South market without a Taylor Swift visit on the tour; she performed in Houston and Nashville last year, and is scheduled to sing at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis from Nov. 1-3.
