VIENNA — Three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna this week have been canceled after arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack in the area, possibly on the stadium itself, and at least one of the suspects is linked to the Islamic State group.
The cancellations left tens of thousands of fans devastated, many of whom were planning to travel to the Austrian capital from all over the world. Others had already arrived when the news broke late Wednesday.
The superstar’s Eras Tour had sold-out shows scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Ernst Happel Stadium, which sat empty Thursday morning except for outdoor media tapings.
Austrian Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler wrote on social platform On three evenings in Vienna, tens of thousands of #Swifties should have celebrated life together.”
“I am very sorry that you have been denied this. Swifties stick together, hate and terror cannot destroy that,” Kogler wrote late Wednesday.
Authorities said earlier Wednesday they had arrested two suspected extremists, one of whom appeared to be planning an attack on an event in the Vienna region such as upcoming concerts.
The 19-year-old main suspect was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and had taken an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group, said Franz Ruf, director of public security at the Austrian Interior Ministry.
A second person was arrested in the Austrian capital. Several Austrian media reported on Thursday that additional suspects were being sought – something the police did not officially confirm.
Ruf said authorities were aware of “preparatory actions” for a possible attack “and also that the 19-year-old perpetrator is focusing on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna,” the Austrian Press Agency reported.
The Austrian citizen is said to have been radicalized on the internet. Ruf said chemicals had been secured and were being evaluated. He did not provide more details, such as the names of the suspects, in line with Austrian privacy legislation.
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 on the stadium.
The cancellation came hours after authorities said security measures would be stepped up for the Swift concerts. Ruf previously said that, among other things, special attention would be paid to access controls and that concertgoers would have to plan a little more time.
Viennese police chief Gerhard Pürstl said at the same time that while any concrete danger had been minimized, an abstract risk justified an increase in security.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer wrote on 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 terrorist attack in Vienna was very serious,” he wrote. But he added that, thanks to intensive cooperation between police and Austrian and foreign intelligence services, “the threat could be identified early, tackled and a tragedy prevented.”
Barracuda Music said that “all tickets will be automatically refunded within the next ten business days.” The same wording was posted under the Vienna dates on Swift’s official website.
The Vienna stadium was sold out for the planned concerts, APA reported, and an estimated 170,000 fans were expected for the concerts in Austria.
Swift fans took to social media to express their devastation at missing one of the superstar’s shows. Some posting on Many spent thousands of euros on travel, hotels and food in one of the most expensive European capitals.
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 mother who looked so sad – even more than me. I gave her one of my bracelets. I wanted to hug her.”
For Fredrikke Blekastad, a Swift fan from Norway, it was the second time she tried to attend a concert. The first time it was canceled due to the pandemic.
“We planned to get up very early, get in line and go all the way to the front to see her,” Blekastad told Norwegian broadcaster NRK, but “nothing comes of it either.”
Other Norwegian fans, Jenny Moltubakk and Marie Hov Aanæs, told NRK about their disappointment.
“At first we were shocked when we saw the message, I didn’t really believe it,” Moltubakk told the broadcaster. “It’s very strange when something you’ve been looking forward to for a whole year suddenly no longer works.”
“I’m very disappointed, to be honest, but I understand that safety is the most important thing,” she added.
Aanæs, 23, said that “we need to have ‘Shake It Off,’” to quote Swift’s 2014 hit. “We are actually just very grateful that security has been tightened enough to be able to unravel this,” Aanæs told NRK.
In 2017, an attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, killed 22 people. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi planted a knapsack bomb at the 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 investigation reported in 2023 that Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, did not act quickly enough on key information and missed a key opportunity to prevent the bombings, the deadliest extremist attack in the United Kingdom in recent years.
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Dazio reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Geir Moulson and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, and Jan Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.
