By Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich
Vienna: Austrian security authorities say they found Islamic State and al-Qaeda material at the home of a 17-year-old suspected of planning to attack three now-cancelled Taylor Swift shows.
The suspect, an Austrian citizen with Turkish and Croatian roots, was arrested by special police forces near the stadium where the concerts were supposed to take place this week.
Taylor Swift performs during her Eras Tour in Nashville, Tennessee.Credit: AP
A 19-year-old Austrian with North Macedonian roots was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna. The suspects’ names were not released in line with Austrian privacy rules.
No other suspects are being sought, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said on Thursday. “The situation was serious, the situation is serious. But we can also say: ‘A tragedy was prevented,’ ” he said.
Security officials allege the pair wanted to commit an attack outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using knives or self-made explosives.
They said the 19-year-old confessed to his attack plans. They said he was “clearly radicalised in the direction of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels”.
The Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, where Taylor Swift’s three concerts were due to take place.Credit: AP
The 17-year-old was employed a few days ago by a company providing services at the venue during the concerts.
The cancellation of the three sold-out concerts this week devastated Swifties across the globe, many of whom had spent thousands of euros on travel and lodging.
Swift was scheduled to play in the Austrian capital’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as part of her Eras Tour.
The shows were to have taken place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but organisers called them off on Thursday (AEST) after the arrests were announced. An estimated 170,000 fans were expected.
Event organiser Barracuda Music said in a post on its Instagram channel late on Wednesday (Vienna time) 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 at the stadium.
Barracuda Music said that “all tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days”. The same wording was posted under the Vienna dates on Swift’s official website.
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”.
Ruf said that chemical substances were secured and were being evaluated. He didn’t give more details.
Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a post on X: “Thanks to the intensive co-operation of our police and the newly established DSN with foreign services, the threat was identified early on, combated and a tragedy prevented.”
The cancellation came hours after authorities said security measures for the Swift concerts would be stepped up. 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 Purstl said at the same time that, while any concrete danger had been minimised, an abstract risk justified raising security.
Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour started in Glendale, Arizona, on March 17, 2023, and is set to conclude in Vancouver on December 8, 2024.
Swift, 34, has not yet commented on the cancellations on her official Instagram account, which has 283 million followers.
The singer has been taking Europe by storm, prompting some pundits to envisage an economic windfall as fans flock to dozens of sold-out shows from Dublin to Warsaw and beyond.
After Vienna, Swift was set to perform in London where five concerts are scheduled at Wembley Stadium, starting on August 15.
In 2017, an attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, killed 22 people. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi set up a knapsack bomb in 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 inquiry reported last year that Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, didn’t act swiftly enough on key information and missed a significant opportunity to prevent the bombing, the deadliest extremist attack in the UK in recent years.
AP
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