VIENNA — Three Taylor Swift concerts this week in Vienna have been canceled following arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack in the area, potentially at the stadium itself.
The cancelations left tens of thousands of fans devastated, many of whom planned to travel from across the globe to the Austrian capital. Others had already arrived by the time the news broke late Wednesday.
The superstar’s Eras Tour had sold-out shows planned for Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Ernst Happel Stadium, which sat empty Thursday morning aside from media filming outside.
Event organizer Barracuda Music said in an Instagram post 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 a Vienna area event such as the upcoming concerts.
The 19-year-old main suspect was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and a second person was arrested in the Austrian capital.
Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria’s Interior Ministry, said 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 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 cancelation came hours after authorities said security measures for the Swift concerts would be stepped up. Ruf previously said that there would be a special focus among other things on entry checks, and concertgoers should plan a bit more time.
Vienna Police Chief Gerhard Pürstl said at the same time that, while any concrete danger had been minimized, an abstract risk justified raising security.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a post on social network X that “the cancellation of the Taylor Swift concerts by the organizers is a bitter disappointment for all fans in Austria.”
“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 and 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.
The Vienna stadium had been sold out for the planned concerts, APA reported, with an estimated 170,000 fans expected for the concerts in Austria.
Swift fans took to social media to express their devastation at missing out on one of the superstar’s shows. Some who posted on X lamented months of now-wasted efforts to make friendship bracelets and pick out fashionable outfits for the performance.
Annmarie Timmins, a journalist who traveled from the United States for Thursday’s show, said she and her husband were waiting for the subway after dinner when they heard the news.
“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 at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, 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. Abedi died in the explosion.
An official inquiry reported in 2023 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 United Kingdom in recent years.
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Dazio reported from Berlin. Associated Press Writer Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
