VIENNA — Three Taylor Swift This week’s concerts in Vienna have been canceled after arrests by a apparent plot to launch an attack in the areapotentially in the stadium itself.
The cancellations left tens of thousands of fans devastated, many of whom planned to travel from around the world to the Austrian capital. Others had already arrived when the news broke Wednesday night.
the superstar Tour of the eras He had sold-out shows planned for Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Ernst Happel stadium, which remained empty on Thursday morning apart from media filming outside.
Event organizer Barracuda Music said in an Instagram post Wednesday night that “we have no choice but to cancel all three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.” He cited confirmation from government officials of a planned attack on the stadium.
Earlier Wednesday, authorities said they had arrested two suspected extremists, one of whom appeared to be planning an attack at an event in the Vienna area, such as upcoming concerts.
The main suspect, aged 19, was detained in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and a second person was arrested in the Austrian capital.
Franz Ruf, director of public security at Austria’s Interior Ministry, said authorities were aware of “preparatory measures” for a possible attack “and also that the 19-year-old perpetrator is targeting Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna.” “. reported the Austrian Press Agency.
Ruf said the 19-year-old had sworn an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group.
The Austrian citizen is believed to have been radicalized on the Internet. Ruf said the chemicals were seized and were being evaluated. He did not give further details.
The cancellation came hours after authorities said security measures would be beefed up for Swift’s concerts. Ruf previously said that special attention would be paid to, among other things, entry controls, and that concertgoers should plan a little more time.
At the same time, Vienna Police Chief Gerhard Pürstl said that while any concrete danger has been minimized, an abstract risk justifies increasing security.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a post on the social network
“The situation surrounding the apparently planned terrorist attack in Vienna was very serious,” he wrote. But he added that, thanks to intensive cooperation between Austrian and foreign police and intelligence, “the threat could be recognized from the beginning, addressed and a tragedy averted.”
Barracuda Music said that “all tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days.” The same text was published under the Vienna dates on Swift’s site. official website.
Tickets for the planned concerts had been sold out at the Vienna stadium, APA reported, and an estimated 170,000 fans were expected for the concerts in Austria.
Swift’s fans took to social media to express their devastation at missing one of the superstar’s shows. Some X posters lamented months of now-wasted effort making friendship bracelets and choosing fashionable outfits for the performance.
Annmarie Timmins, a journalist who traveled from the United States for Thursday’s program, said she and her husband were waiting for the subway after dinner when they heard the news.
“I can’t even believe it,” he said. “There was a girl with her mother who seemed very sad, even more than me. I gave her one of my bracelets. “I wanted to hug her.”
In 2017, a Attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, killed 22 people. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi was created a backpack bomb at the Manchester Arena at the end of Grande’s concert as thousands of young fans left. More than 100 people were injured. Abedi died in the explosion.
An official consultation reported in 2023 that Britain’s national intelligence agency, MI5, did not act quickly enough on key information and missed an important opportunity to prevent the bombing, the deadliest extremist attack in the United Kingdom in recent years.
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Dazio reported from Berlin. Associated Press writer Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
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