Taylor Swift reached out in private to bereaved families of the Southport victims before taking to the stage on Thursday night for her first gig since the tragedy.
Swift’s history-making Eras tour made a triumphant return, with a surprise appearance by Ed Sheeran at Wembley Stadium.
He joined the headliner on stage at Wembley Stadium for the acoustic section, playing two of their collaborations, Everything Has Changed and Endgame, before a burst of Sheeran's hit Thinking Out Loud.
It was the star’s first gig since the Southport stabbings last month at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class for youngsters, which claimed the lives of three young girls.
Although Swift, 34, did not publicly reference the deaths of Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Alice Aguiar, nine, and Bebe King, six, she is understood to has reached out privately to their families.
A source told The Sun newspaper: “Taylor may not have spoken about Elsie Dot, Alice and Bebe on stage but she has reached out to their families.
“It is something that has weighed heavily on her mind.”
In the wake of the tragedy, the star had issued a statement speaking of her horror at the scenes unfolding in the Merseyside town.
“The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously and I’m just completely in shock,” she said.
“The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families, and first responders. These were just little kids at a dance class.
“I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”
It comes after a foiled plan to attack her concert venue in Austria, where police arrested three Islamic State-inspired extremists.
The August shows in Vienna were cancelled, making Thursday's Wembley concert the return of the Eras Tour to the stage.
She thanked the 92,000-strong audience for making the effort to attend, which had involved increased security measures.
Swift has four remaining dates at Wembley Stadium, which will make it a record breaking solo residency at the venue and round out the European leg of her Eras tour.
It picks up again in Toronto in November.
