Three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna were canceled after Austrian authorities said Wednesday they had detained two suspects in connection with planning an attack in and around the city.
American singer Taylor Swift was scheduled to perform three times in Vienna – from Thursday, August 8 to Saturday, August 10. According to Barracuda Music, the organizer of Swift’s concerts in Austria, the concerts have been canceled, the American news channel CNN reported.
“We have no other choice but to cancel the three planned concerts for the good and safety of everyone,” the organizer wrote on his Instagram channel.
Taylor SwiftLennart Preiss/PAP/DPA
Arrests in connection with a planned terrorist attack
Earlier, the agencies reported the arrest of two men suspected of terrorism, one of whom was planning an attack on events taking place in the Vienna area.
The first, a 19-year-old, was arrested in Ternitz, the second in the Austrian capital. Franz Ruf, director of public security at the Austrian interior ministry, said that “the authorities are aware of preparatory activities for a possible attack and that the arrested 19-year-old was focused on Taylor Swift’s performances in Vienna,” the Austrian Press Agency reported.
Ruf added that the 19-year-old had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, a Sunni extremist terrorist organization. Chemical substances were seized in the investigation.
Austrian Chancellor: The situation was very serious
“Thanks to the intensive cooperation of our police and intelligence agencies with foreign services, it was possible to identify the threat in time, combat it and prevent a tragedy,” wrote Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on X.
He assessed that “the security situation related to the planned terrorist attack on Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna was very serious.” He also wrote that he knows that “for Taylor Swift’s fans, the cancellation of her concerts in Vienna is a huge disappointment.
photo-source">Source of the main photo: Lennart Preiss/PAP/DPA
