Pledge of allegiance to IS Fear of terrorist attack: Swift concerts in Vienna canceled
Men in protective suits enter a residential building - chemical substances were later found there.
Image: dpa
The area around the suspect's apartment was cordoned off.
Image: dpa
Police seized chemical substances during a large-scale operation lasting several hours.
Image: dpa
Men in protective suits enter a residential building - chemical substances were later found there.
Image: dpa
The area around the suspect's apartment was cordoned off.
Image: dpa
Police seized chemical substances during a large-scale operation lasting several hours.
Image: dpa
He swore allegiance to the terrorist organization Islamic State: an Austrian was planning attacks and had his eye on Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna. The organizers draw drastic consequences.
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- Two people have been arrested in Austria on suspicion of terrorism.
- According to the police, the radical Islamic duo had planned attacks at Taylor Swift's upcoming concerts in Vienna, among other things.
- The organizers have cancelled the three upcoming Swift concerts in Vienna.
- Chemical substances were seized from a 19-year-old Austrian.
For fear of terrorist attacks, the organizers have cancelled the three upcoming concerts of US pop star Taylor Swift in Vienna.
"Due to confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at the Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone's safety," the promoter, Barracuda Music, announced on Instagram. The concerts were due to take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Vienna.
This followed the arrest of two terror suspects in Austria on Wednesday, including a 19-year-old. According to the police, the teenager was planning attacks in the greater Vienna area.
Focus on Taylor Swift concerts
"We have also established that there is a focus by the 19-year-old perpetrator on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna," said Franz Ruf, Director General for Public Security at the Austrian Ministry of the Interior. The young man had become radicalized on the Internet and had recently sworn allegiance to the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS).
The 19-year-old was tracked down in Ternitz, around 75 kilometers southwest of Vienna. Another person was arrested in Vienna. The police did not say what the relationship between the two arrested persons is or whether the police are searching for accomplices.
Chemical substances
The police did not say what exactly the 19-year-old had planned. However, chemical substances were seized from him. The police searched a house in Ternitz. Investigators in protective suits could be seen there. The police had cordoned off the building for fear of possible explosives traps. Many people had to leave their homes. Part of a retirement home was also evacuated.
65,000 people were expected to attend each of the three concerts in the sold-out stadium, as well as around 20,000 fans who would have come to the arena without tickets to listen to their idol's music from afar, said Vienna Provincial Police Chief Gerhard Pürstl.
"The findings of the investigation give reason for increased police surveillance", he said a few hours before the concerts were canceled. Although the concrete danger had been minimized, there was still an abstract danger. The police cannot cancel such events, said the state police chief in response to a question from a journalist.
Government: let's not destroy our way of life
The police had already mobilized special anti-terrorist forces, including plainclothes officers and those with special training and service dogs, to secure the concerts. They wanted to provide mobile and stationary surveillance of the airspace.
Austrian Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) thanked the investigators. "Terrorists want to scare us and drive us apart," he wrote on the short message service X. "We will not allow our way of life to be destroyed."