Taylor Swift has cancelled three shows on her Erasus tour in Vienna following the arrest of two people accused of plotting a terror attack in the area where she was scheduled to perform. Swift was scheduled to perform at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadion on August 8, 9 and 10.
“Government authorities have confirmed that a terrorist attack was planned at the Ernst Happel Stadium and for everyone’s safety we are forced to cancel the three scheduled shows,” Barracuda Music, the promoter of the shows, said in a statement. “All tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days.”
According to a German-language press release from the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, the two suspects – one of them a 19-year-old who reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS in July – had been radicalised online and had drawn up detailed plans for the attack: “Based on the State Security and Intelligence Service’s latest assessment of terrorist and extremist activities, the Vienna State Police has strengthened security measures, especially at large events. The terrorism alert level in Austria remains high and is being continuously assessed.”
“The suspects were focused on the Taylor Swift concert,” Austria’s public security chief Franz Ruff said. NY Post“We discovered he was acting in preparation for an attack. The apparent threat was averted.”
About 200,000 people were expected to attend Taylor Swift’s Vienna show, which was due to be the penultimate show of her European tour before a five-night performance at London’s Wembley Stadium from August 14-18.
Taylor Swift’s upcoming show in Vienna has been cancelled due to threats from an alleged ISIS-related plot to attack the stadium. pic.twitter.com/K8PVdGIiST
— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 7, 2024
Source: Our Culture – ourculturemag.com
