The Swiftie invasion of New Orleans continues as fans flock to the city ahead of the three Taylor Swift Eras Tour concerts in the Superdome, and New Orleans homeland security officials are doing everything they can to keep concertgoers and the general public safe throughout the weekend.
The New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is doubling up on its efforts to keep those Swifities and the city as a whole safe during the big weekend.
"It's a lot of parents, a lot of youngsters, a lot of teenagers, particularly teenaged girls," New Orleans homeland security director Collin Arnold says. "The merch (crowds) alone are larger than the weekend festivals that we hold."
The sheer size of the Swiftie crowd is forcing Arnold to security assistance not only from local partners but also from federal agencies. Arnold told WWL's Newell Normand that federal authorities have an interest in the Taylor Swift concerts, especially from an intelligence standpoint. Their goal is to stop crimes and disasters, including human trafficking to terrorism, from happening.
"We'll be looking at social media and looking at all of the thing that the intelligence side looks at to make sure that if we see any type of issue that it's addressed and made known," Arnold said. "We know of no types of threats, but we know in Europe--in Austria--there were some issues with a terror attack on a Taylor Swift concert. So obviously we have our ears perked for that."
Fans attending the concerts who scan their tickets and enter Champions Square will not be allowed to exit and re-enter. Officials encourage Swifties who want to purchase merchandise to do on a day before or a day after they attend the concert so they won't have to carry extra items with them while inside the Superdome's perimeter.