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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