Taylor Swift’s much-anticipated Vienna concerts have been abruptly cancelled due to fears of a planned terrorist attack. Organisers announced the decision following confirmation from Austrian authorities regarding the arrest of a 19-year-old suspect allegedly planning an attack in the Vienna region, specifically targeting Swift’s three scheduled shows.
“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 stated on Instagram.
The organisers assured that all ticket holders would receive refunds.
Approximately 65,000 spectators were expected at each of the shows set for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
The suspect, identified as a 19-year-old sympathiser of an armed group, was detained in Lower Austria, about an hour from the capital, early on Wednesday.
Austria's top security chief, Franz Ruf, revealed that the individual had pledged allegiance to ISIS “in recent weeks” and had been apprehended with chemical substances at his home.
A second suspect, believed to have been in contact with the primary suspect, was also arrested in Vienna. Initial investigations indicated both individuals had radicalised themselves online.
"We have established corresponding preparatory acts and also that there is a focus of the 19-year-old perpetrator on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna," Ruf said during a press conference.
Despite police promises to ramp up security measures, including deploying special units for the concerts, the threat was deemed significant enough to warrant cancellation.
The news of the cancellation sent shockwaves through Swift’s fan base. In the official "Swifties" fan group on WhatsApp, administrators were overwhelmed with thousands of messages expressing panic and disappointment.
Marie Sereinig, 15, who had travelled from the south of the Alps to attend the show with her aunt, expressed her dismay.
“I’m simply shocked and very sad. But I can also understand that Taylor Swift wouldn't dare go on stage in these conditions,” she said.
Flora Zoe Koberwein, a 20-year-old student, echoed the sentiment, stating, "I don't really have any words. Sorry for those who have travelled so far."
Conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer called the cancellation “a bitter disappointment” for fans in a post on X (formerly Twitter), emphasizing that the “very serious” threat had been addressed early to prevent any tragedy.
The 34-year-old pop star was due to bring her record-breaking "Eras" Tour, which began its European leg in Paris in May, to Vienna on Thursday.
Following performances in France, the tour had stops in Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and Poland, significantly impacting local economies at each location.
In Austria, more than 170,000 spectators were expected to attend the shows, generating an estimated 100 million euros. By the end of the year, the "Eras" Tour had already become the first tour to sell more than $1 billion in tickets and is on track to more than double that figure by its conclusion in Vancouver this December.
Austria has been vigilant since experiencing its first deadly jihadist attack in November 2020, when a convicted ISIS sympathiser went on a shooting rampage in downtown Vienna, killing four and wounding 23 others before police intervened.
The current situation underscores the ongoing security challenges the country faces in maintaining public safety amidst such threats.
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