Vienna officials reveal details of thwarted attacks in Austria

August 9, 2024Last Updated: August 9, 2024

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Vienna Officials Taylor Swift Now Canceled Shows Terrorist Attack Plans Revealed

On Wednesday (August 7), Vienna officials disappointed Swifties who had planned to see Taylor Swift performing in Austria. Local law enforcement intervened in an alleged planned attack and eventually cancelled three sold-out shows over safety concerns. The shows were part of the pop artist’s ‘Eras’ tour.

Vienna officials now say the two suspects, aged 19 and 17, had terrorist motives. The 19-year-old is an Austrian of North Macedonian descent, while the 17-year-old is an Austrian of Turkish and Croatian descent. Local authorities arrested both on Tuesday (August 6) but are withholding their names due to Austrian privacy laws.

Vienna officials defend cancellation of Taylor Swift concerts

According to Press LinksIslamic State and al-Qaeda groups appear to have inspired the suspects in custody, Austrian officials said on Thursday (August 8). Investigators are believed to have found bomb-making materials in one of their homes.

Taylor Swift’s sold-out shows were scheduled to take place in Austria’s expensive capital at the Ernst Happel Stadium. Concert organizers in Austria said they expected up to 65,000 fans inside the stadium for each concert. Meanwhile, organizers had planned for up to 30,000 people to watch outside the venue.

Note that one of the two suspects confessed to planning “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.” Additionally, according to Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, the suspects planned the failed attack for Thursday or Friday. A third performance was scheduled for Saturday.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer defended the decision to cancel the concert. Nehammer argued that the arrests came too close to the performance.

“I understand very well that people who want to experience a live concert are sad,” Nehammer said at a press conference on Thursday. “Moms and dads who are taking care of their daughters and sons, who are full of enthusiasm and anticipation for this concert. But it is also important that in these serious times, it is inevitable that safety comes first.”

More details on thwarted terrorist threat

Authorities say the main suspect has confessed that he began planning the attack in July. Just weeks earlier, the 19-year-old had posted online a pledge of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group.

Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of the State Security and Intelligence Service, said the 19-year-old “clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State and thinking that killing infidels is right.”

Haijawi-Pirchner added that the suspect “wanted to carry out an attack in the area outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible with a knife or even with explosive devices that he had made.”

During a raid on the suspect’s home in Ternitz, south of Vienna, investigators found chemicals and technical equipment indicating “specific preparatory acts”.

Authorities said they also found Islamic State and al-Qaeda material at the home of the second suspect, a 17-year-old who has so far refused to talk. However, the 17-year-old was recruited just days earlier by an unidentified service company at the concert venue. Haijawi-Pirchner said neither suspect appeared to have tickets to any of the shows.

Meanwhile, Swifties spent thousands of euros (dollars) on travel and accommodation to attend the show, but the stadium was empty on Thursday, according to the AP.

A concert organizer said on Wednesday that all tickets would be refunded. In addition, Austrian railway company OeBB has agreed to refund fans for unused train tickets.

Taylor Swift has not publicly commented on the plot or canceled the shows. She was scheduled to perform five shows in London between August 15 and 20. As of this week, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has revealed that the city plans to “go ahead” with her shows, adding that London is prepared for potential threats.