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Music|Taylor Swift Concerts in Vienna Canceled After Officials Outline Threats
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/07/arts/music/taylor-swift-concert-terror-plot-vienna.html
Three stadium shows were called off after Austrian officials said that a man who was arrested and accused of plotting a terrorist attack had been focused on her tour.
Aug. 7, 2024, 4:33 p.m. ET
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has been canceled in Austria after officials announced the arrest of two men whom they accused of plotting a terrorist attack in Vienna, with one of them focusing on several stadium shows the singer had planned for this week.
An Austrian concert promoter, Barracuda Music, announced the cancellation of the three shows in a post on Instagram. Nearly 200,000 people had been expected to attend the Vienna concerts, which were to start on Thursday.
“We have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” the Instagram post said.
Officials in Austria said at a news conference on Wednesday that two men had been arrested and accused of plotting a terrorist attack. One of them, a 19-year-old Austrian citizen, had recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State online and had focused on the Eras Tour as a potential target, said Franz Ruf, an Austrian public security official.
Law enforcement carried out a raid at the man’s home in Ternitz, a town south of Vienna, and found chemical substances, Mr. Ruf said.
The other man was arrested in Vienna.
“Both suspects had become radicalized on the internet and had taken concrete preparatory actions for a terrorist attack,” said a news release from the Austrian interior department.
Law enforcement had been planning to increase security at the concerts, which had been planned for the Ernst Happel Stadium, with the band Paramore scheduled as an opener. Gerhard Pürstl, the president of the Vienna State Police, said that about 65,000 people had been expected to attend each concert, with more than 15,000 other fans expected to gather around the stadium.
“The concrete threat, as you’ve heard, has been minimized, but there remains an abstract increased threat,” Mr. Pürstl said.
The Eras Tour began its major European leg this summer after becoming a cultural phenomenon and financial juggernaut in the United States last year.
The singer’s fandom became a target for a violent attack in England last week, when three children died in a knife attack in Southport during a Swift-themed dance class. A 17-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the attack.
Ainara Tiefenthäler contributed reporting.
