Taylor Swift concerts cancelled in Vienna after apparent attack plot foiled, organizers say | CBC News (2024)

The Associated Press

· Posted: Aug 07, 2024 7:13 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 8

Organizers of three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna this week called them off on Wednesday after officials announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack on an event in the Vienna area.

Swift was scheduled to play at the Austrian capital's Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as part of her Eras Tour.

Event organizer Barracuda Music said in a post on its Instagram channel late Wednesday that "we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone's safety." It cited government officials' "confirmation" of a planned attack at the stadium.

Earlier Wednesday, authorities said they had arrested two suspected extremists, one of whom appeared to be planning an attack on an event in the area.

The 19-year-old main suspect was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and the second suspect in the Austrian capital.

Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria's Interior Ministry, said that authorities were aware of "preparatory actions" for a possible attack, "and also that there is a focus by the 19-year-old perpetrator on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna," the Austria Press Agency (APA) reported.

Ruf said the 19-year-old had pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group.

The Austrian citizen is believed to have become radicalized on the internet. Ruf said that chemical substances were secured and were being evaluated. He didn't give more details.

The 19-year-old suspect was "clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels," Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of Austria's Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, said on Thursday.

Haijawi-Pirchner said the young man wanted to use knives or self-made explosives outside the stadium to "kill as many people as possible."

Authorities said they also found Islamic State group and al-Qaeda material at the home of the 17-year-old. They said he was employed a few days ago by a company providing services at the venue for the concerts, and was arrested by special police forces near the stadium.

The cancellations came hours after authorities said security measures for the Swift concerts would be stepped up. Ruf said that there would be a special focus on entry checks,among other things, and concert-goers should expect longer waits.

WATCH | Swift wasscheduled to play 3 concerts in Vienna:

Vienna Police Chief Gerhard Purstlalso said that while any concrete danger had been minimized, an abstract risk justified raising security.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the country's police and intelligence service had "contributed everything to ensure safe events" and that the organizer made the decision to cancel the concerts, APA reported. He said there had been "close networking with foreign security authorities."

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.

The Vienna stadium had been sold out for the planned concerts, APA reported, with an estimated 170,000 fans expected.

Swift fans took to social media to express their devastation at missing out on one of the superstar's shows. Some who posted on social network X lamented months of now-wasted efforts to make friendship bracelets and pick out fashionable outfits for the performance.

In 2017, an attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, U.K.,killed 22 people. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi set up a knapsack bomb in Manchester Arena at the end of Grande's concert as thousands of young fans were leaving. More than 100 people were injured.

An official inquiry reported last year that Britain's domestic intelligence agency, MI5, didn't act swiftly enough on key information and missed a significant opportunity to prevent the bombing, the deadliest extremist attack in the U.K. in recent years.

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