Taylor Swift will continue her Eras Tour despite the cancelled concerts. Image source: Jana Beamer, via Wikimedia Commons
Taylor Swift had her sold-out concerts in Vienna, Austria, cancelled after government officials confirmed a planned attack on the stadium.
Taylor Swift was set to perform at the Ernst Happel Stadium three nights in a row, with an excess of 65,000 attendees expected for each show.
Barracuda Music, the ticket organisers, announced the cancellation on social media, stating that all ticket sales would be automatically refunded over a 10-day period.
Austrian police have detained three suspects over the alleged plot, aged 19, 17, and 15. Authorities say one of the men confessed to planning to “kill as many people as possible”.
Karl Nehammer, Austrian Chancellor, stated that “the main perpetrator has confessed that he was supposed to carry out a suicide attack with two accomplices”.
“The suspects actually had very specific and detailed plans … to leave a bloodbath in their wake.”
Authorities describe the suspects as “radicalised over the internet”, with officials claiming to find Islamic State and Al Qaeda materials in the home of one of the suspects.
According to Dr Michael Zekulin, Australian National University counterterrorism researcher, concerts are not an uncommon target for terrorism attacks because of the “appeal of large crowds”, described as “soft targets” due to the lack of security and scrutiny.
A 2023 report found that there were 146 terrorist attacks on concerts and festivals between 1970 and 2019, killing at least 802 people across 37 countries.
The impact of a similar planned attack was seen in 2017, at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, where a suicide bomb attack killed 22 people.
Dr Zekulin stated that there was “no evidence” that the age and gender of the concertgoers, a majority of whom were young females, were a consideration of attackers, with the crowd size and media attention acting as a bigger draw.
Taylor Swift, as one of the most popular musicians globally, is known for drawing a large crowd. Fans who travelled to see her concerts in Vienna report feeling disappointed and “pretty devastated” over the cancellation.
Other fans instead state their gratitude at being spared a potential attack, with one fan who had attended Ariana Grande’s 2017 concert stating that people were “incredibly lucky” and that “a concert is not worth your life”.
Despite the cancellations in Vienna, Taylor Swift will perform in London as part of her current tour. She has already played multiple nights at Wembley Stadium and is due to return to the venue for five more shows.
