Taylor Swift cancels Vienna Eras tour concerts after two arrested in alleged terror plot

Taylor Swift's three Eras Tour concerts in Vienna were canceled after government officials confirmed a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, the local concert promoter announced Wednesday.

The security situation was very serious and a tragedy was averted, Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer wrote in a social media post.

"We have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety," said Barracuda Music, the promoter for the Austrian shows. "All tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days."

Swift had been set to perform in Vienna on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Earlier Wednesday, Vienna Federal Ministry of the Interior officials confirmed the arrest of two individuals who are "suspected of having planned attacks at major events," including Swift's concerts.

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"During our investigations, we identified preparatory actions and noted that the 19-year-old suspect had a particular focus on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna," said Franz Ruf, director general for public security. He alleged that the suspect, an Austrian citizen, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

Another suspect was later arrested in Vienna. Police searched the residence of one of the suspects in Ternitz, Lower Austria, and were analyzing items from the home. Local media, citing police sources, said three suspects were still on the run.

"The cancellation of the Taylor Swift concerts by the organizers is a bitter disappointment for all fans in Austria," Nehammer wrote in an X post translated by the social media site.

He thanked emergency services that are investigating at "full speed."

'Making sure that her fans are kept safe'

Officials initially said police would increase security measures at the shows, but the performances were ultimately called off. Swift has performed 126 Eras Tour concerts so far, and these are her first cancellations. Other dates have been postponed due to weather.

This isn't the first time a concert has become a target. In 2017, a suicide bomber killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. The brothers responsible for the attack wanted to "advance the ideology of Islam," according to the judge who sentenced the surviving sibling.

“It’s a choice you never want to make, but she would have a really good rapport with the local police and government agencies,” says Andrea Davis, the president and CEO of the Resiliency Initiative, a global consulting company focused on crisis management and risk mitigation planning. “These were credible threats, and it was the right thing to do. She has a pattern of making sure that her fans are kept safe.”

In fact, Swift confessed in Elle magazine in 2019 ahead of her Reputation Stadium Tour that her biggest fear concerns her fans' safety.

"After the Manchester Arena bombing and the Vegas concert shooting, I was completely terrified to go on tour this time because I didn’t know how we were going to keep 3 million fans safe over seven months," she wrote. "There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense, and effort put into keeping my fans safe."

Swift's only remaining European tour dates are five nights at Wembley Stadium in London from Aug. 15-20. She then returns to North America in October before wrapping up the Eras Tour in December.

Taylor Swift fans react: 'It's really devastating'

It's not uncommon for Swift's fans to cross oceans to see her perform, and many ticketholders are heartbroken over the cancellations.

Emily Reyes drove with her boyfriend John Bechtel and his sister Hannah Bechtel from Greenville, South Carolina, to Charlotte, North Carolina. "We paid for parking and we had just gotten around to our gate when I saw that all the Vienna shows had been canceled," Reyes, 23, says.

In April, she got three tickets to a Vienna show because it was cheaper than Swift's fall shows in Miami, and she wanted to surprise her sister-in-law. She made a custom "Reputation" catsuit to wear Saturday night.

"A lot of people are traveling for these shows, and it's really devastating," she says. "I wish that they could have rescheduled and just had a really high security to check everything and all belongings — even if that means clear bags and getting patted down and going through metal detectors."

Around 65,000 people were expected to attend each night as well as up to 15,000 people outside the stadium without tickets, which fed security concerns.

Other Swifties took to social media to share their disappointment over the jarring development.

• “Sitting in a Vienna hotel room processing the fact that the Taylor Swift concert I've been looking forward to for a year, that I flew halfway around the world for, has just been cancelled,” @wordnerd212 wrote on X.
• “Good job I’m not currently sat on a plane to Vienna for Taylor Swift… oh wait,” X user @carleypagett wrote.
• “We were meant to go and see Taylor Swift in Vienna tomorrow night,” @jessiblah wrote on X. “We were just saying we would start to make our friendship bracelets, I had packed the beads in my case. I’m heartbroken.”
• “I am devastated. For over a year I looked forward to this,” X user @Natascha_Strobl wrote. “I made all the bracelets. Taylor Swift in my home city. And now it’s not happening. I have no words. She will never come to Vienna again. That‘s just it. This meant so much. I so wanted to go this concert.”
• “I will need 3-5 business years to recover emotionally from Taylor Swift‘s shows being cancelled in Vienna,” @DJChenks wrote on X.

First cancellations of the Eras Tour

Of Swift’s 126 Eras Tour concerts, she has postponed two shows, delayed a show and canceled two opening acts due to weather.

In Nashville on May 7, a torrential downpour delayed the concert by four hours. Swift didn’t wrap until 1:30 a.m. On July 1, Gracie Abram’s opening set in Cincinnati was canceled after heavy rain delays. Swift brought Abrams out for a duet during her surprise set. In Buenos Aires, Swift pushed back her Oct. 10 show to Oct. 12 after heavy rain fell on the Argentinian capital.

"I love a rain show but I’m never going to endanger my fans or my fellow performers and crew," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

A week later in Rio de Janeiro, she moved her Nov. 18 concert to Nov. 20 because of sweltering temperatures, one day after a fan died at her show.

On Feb. 23, Sabrina Carpenter’s opening set was canceled in Sydney due to lightning.

Tickets to be refunded for Taylor Swift's Vienna shows

For fans with resale tickets through StubHub, the company says it will provide buyers with a 120% voucher toward another purchase. “Buyers who prefer a 100% cash refund can make the request directly in their StubHub wallet,” the site said Wednesday in a statement.

Barracuda Music, the Austrian tour promoter, posted that fans can expect full refunds within 10 business days and can get updates at https://www.oeticket.com/help/updates/.

Second violent incident involving Taylor Swift fans

This is the second Swift-related violent incident in just over a week.

On July 29, three children — ages 9, 7 and 6 — died after a mass stabbing that injured 10 others in Southport, U.K., during a Taylor Swift-themed class meant for children.

Swift spoke out on the incident the day after the attack, saying she was "at a complete loss."

"The horror of yesterday's attack is washing over me continuously and I’m just completely in shock," she wrote on her Instagram story.

An 18-year-old has been charged, and a wave of false messaging online that wrongly identified the suspect as an Islamist migrant triggered days of rioting. More than 140 people have been charged in relation to that violence.

Contributing: Reuters

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