Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shows in Vienna, Austria, have been canceled after government officials confirmed an alleged ISIS-linked terrorist plot to attack large events, organizers said Wednesday.
“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, the concerts’ organizer, said in an online post.
The announcement came shortly after two suspected extremists were arrested in Austria on Wednesday, one of whom appeared to be planning an attack on a major event in the Vienna area such as Swift’s concerts over the weekend, authorities said.
Austrian authorities said that the two individuals are tied to ISIS. The information about the suspects originated from U.S. intelligence and was communicated to Austrian authorities, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.
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The 19-year-old main suspect was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and the second person in the Austrian capital.
Swift’s concerts had been scheduled to take place at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as part of her massively successful Eras Tour. The shows’ ticket vendor in Austria said that all tickets would be refunded within 10 business days.
Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria’s interior ministry, said that authorities became 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,” the Austria Press Agency reported. Ruf said the concerts would have attracted audiences of up to 65,000, with thousands more expected to congregate outside the stadium.
A “targeted raid was carried out this morning,” coordinated by various state and city law enforcement offices, Ruf said.
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The Austrian Interior Ministry said that both suspects had become radicalized on the internet and made “concrete preparations for a terrorist attack.” Ruf said the 19-year-old Austrian citizen had pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group in July.
Ruf also said that chemical substances were seized from the main suspect’s home and were being evaluated. He didn’t give more details.
A person familiar with the matter told CBS News Wednesday evening that police found chemical substances when the 19-year-old was arrested, but not all the components necessary to build a working explosive device.
Austrian authorities canceled the concerts out of an abundance of caution because the investigation is continuing into other possible co-conspirators who may have been involved in the alleged plans, the source added.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer called the concerts’ cancellation “a bitter disappointment for all fans in Austria,” adding that “the threat was recognized early, combated and a tragedy prevented.”
“We live in a time in which violent means are being used to attack our western way of life,” Nehammer wrote on social media. “Islamist terrorism threatens security and freedom in many western countries. This is precisely why we will not give up our values such as freedom and democracy, but will defend them even more vehemently.”
Prior to the cancellation announcement, Provincial Police President Gerhard Pürstl had said officials would step up security measures for the concerts to include the deployment of police officers in both civilian clothes and uniform, video surveillance, a police dog unit and other special law enforcement units.
