Organizers have canceled three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna that were set for this week due to an alleged conspiracy to assault an event in the neighborhood.
The concerts, part of Swift’s Eras Tour, were scheduled for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Ernst Happel Stadium.
The event organizer, Barracuda Music, announced the cancellations on Instagram late Wednesday, noting that they had “no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.” They referred to officials’ confirmation of a planned attack at the venue.
Earlier Wednesday, authorities announced the arrest of two suspected extremists, one of whom looked to be preparing an assault on a Vienna-area event, such as upcoming concerts.
The 19-year-old main suspect was apprehended near Ternitz, south of Vienna, and the second in the Austrian capital.
Franz Ruf, Austria’s interior ministry’s public security director, said officials were aware of “preparatory actions” for a prospective assault, as well as the 19-year-old perpetrator’s emphasis on Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna, according to the Austria Press Agency.
The Austrian citizen is believed to have become radicalized online. Ruf said that the 19-year-old suspect had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State group.
Ruf did not elaborate on his remarks, only stating that chemical substances had been secured and were undergoing analysis.
The concerts were canceled just hours after authorities declared that more security would be in place for the Swift events, emphasizing that entry checks would be a special focus and that attendees should allow extra time for these procedures.
Chief of police of Vienna Gerhard Pürstl noted that while any particular threat had been mitigated, the overall risk level warranted heightened security measures.
Chancellor of Austria Karl Nehammer wrote on social media platform X that “all fans in Austria are bitterly disappointed by the organizers’ cancellation of the Taylor Swift concerts.”
“The situation surrounding the apparently planned terror attack in Vienna was very serious,” he wrote. But he added that, thanks to intensive cooperation between police, Austrian and foreign intelligence, “the threat could be recognized early on, tackled and a tragedy prevented.”
Barracuda Music said that “all tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days.” The same wording was posted under the Vienna dates on Swift’s official website.
According to APA, the Vienna stadium had sold out for the planned concerts, with an estimated 170,000 fans expected in Austria.
Swift followers rushed to social media to voice their disappointment at missing one of the superstar’s performances. Some who posted on X regretted months of wasted effort making friendship bracelets and selecting attractive clothing for the show.
Annmarie Timmins, a journalist who traveled from the United States for Thursday’s performance, said she and her husband learned the news while waiting for the train after supper.
“I can’t even believe it,” she said. “There was a girl with her mom who looked so sad – even more than me. I gave her one of my bracelets. I wanted to hug her.”
In 2017, an attack on an Ariana Grande performance in Manchester, England, killed 22 people. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi planted a backpack bomb in Manchester Arena at the end of Grande’s concert, as many of young admirers were leaving. More than one hundred persons were hurt. Abedi died in the explosion.
Last year, an official inquiry found that Britain’s domestic intelligence service, MI5, failed to act quickly enough on critical evidence, missing a significant opportunity to prevent the bombing, the deadliest terrorist assault in the United Kingdom in recent years.
