Taylor Swift's Vienna concerts cancelled over suspected terrorist plot

FILE - Taylor Swift performs at San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, for her Eras Tour concert, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Claudio Furlan / LaPresse via AP

Two men are in custody after being linked to a suspected ISIS terrorist plot, which authorities say included targeting Taylor Swift’s upcoming concerts in Vienna.

As a result, all three Eras Tour shows have been cancelled, the organizers confirmed Wednesday.

“With confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” Barracuda Music shared to Instagram.

Swift was scheduled to play Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The organizers wrote that all ticket holders will have their money refunded in the next 10 business days.

The arrests of the suspected extremists took place Wednesday in Austria. Authorities said the main suspect, a 19-year-old, appeared to be planning an attack on Swift’s concert.

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 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.

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The cancellation came just hours after authorities said the Swift shows would go on, but with heightened security measures. Ruf 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.

Wednesday’s arrests marks the second Swift-related violent incident in just over a week. On July 29, three children died after a mass stabbing that injured 10 others in Southport, U.K., during a Taylor Swift-themed class meant for children.

— with a file from The Associated Press

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