US singer Taylor Swift performs on stage at the Paris La Defense Arena as part of her The Eras Tour, in Nanterre, north-western France, on May 9, 2024. Three shows in Vienna by the American mega-star have been cancelled after Austria arrested a man in connection with an Islamist attack plot, the organizers said on August 8, 2024. (AFP)
VIENNA – The Vienna leg of a tour by American mega-star Taylor Swift has been cancelled after Austria arrested a man in connection with an Islamist attack plot, the organizers said Wednesday.
Authorities had earlier confirmed the arrest of a 19-year-old Islamic State (IS) group sympathizer for allegedly planning an Islamist attack in the Vienna region, warning he had a “focus” on Swift’s three upcoming shows.
“With confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” Barracuda Music said on Instagram.
The organizers added that all would-be concert-goers would have their tickets refunded. About 65,000 spectators were expected at each show scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The man, who had pledged his allegiance to IS “in recent weeks”, was detained in Lower Austria about an hour from the capital early on Wednesday, Austria’s top security chief Franz Ruf told a press conference.
“We have established corresponding preparatory acts and also that there is a focus of the 19-year-old perpetrator on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna,” Ruf said.
He said that chemical substances had been seized at the suspect’s home.
A second person believed to have been in contact with the suspect was arrested in Vienna.
According to initial investigation findings, both suspects radicalized themselves on the internet.
In November 2020, a convicted IS sympathizer went on a shooting rampage in downtown Vienna, killing four and wounding 23 others before police shot him dead.
It marked the Alpine nation’s first deadly jihadist attack.