Taylor Swift concerts cancelled in Austria after attack threat

Chancellor Karl Nehammer says threat was ‘very serious’ and a ‘tragedy was averted’ after police detain two suspects.

Three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna this week have been called off, organisers said, after the authorities announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack on a public event in the Austrian capital.

Swift was scheduled to perform at the Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as part of her Eras Tour.

Event organiser Barracuda Music said in a post on Instagram late on Wednesday that “we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety”, citing government officials’ “confirmation” of a planned attack at the stadium.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said “a tragedy was averted”, in a post on X.

“Thanks to the intensive cooperation of our police and the newly established DSN with foreign services, the threat was identified early on, combated and a tragedy averted,” Nehammer wrote. DSN is Austria’s Directorate for Security and Intelligence.

Barracuda Music said all tickets would be refunded.

Police detained two people suspected of plotting attacks on concerts, Franz Ruf, director general for public security, said at a news conference on Wednesday.

“During our investigations, we identified preparatory actions and noted that the 19-year-old suspect had a particular focus on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna,” Ruf said, adding that the suspect, an Austrian citizen, had pledged allegiance to the ISIL (ISIS) group. Another suspect was later arrested in Vienna.

Police searched the residence of one of the suspects in Ternitz, Lower Austria, and were analysing items from the home, according to the Reuters news agency.

Austrian media, citing police sources, said at least three suspects were still on the run.

Earlier on Wednesday, before the cancellation announcement, police had said the events would take place but with increased entry checks and personal searches, and with deployment of special units including anti-terror and bomb disposal teams, advising the public to arrive early.

Police had been expecting about 65,000 people to attend each show, as well as up to 15,000 people outside the stadium without tickets.

The American singer-songwriter commands a massive following around the world, and her ongoing series of concerts have drawn hundreds of thousands of spectators, which has also been an economic windfall for countries where the events are held, leading to the coining of the term “Swiftonomics“.

Swift, 34, has not yet commented on the cancellations on her official Instagram account which has 283 million followers.

In the official “Swifties” fan group on WhatsApp, panic ensued following the announcement of the cancellations with administrators overwhelmed with thousands of messages.

After Vienna, Swift was set to perform in London where six concerts are scheduled at Wembley Stadium, starting on August 15.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies