Taylor Swift Cancels Concerts in Vienna: Risk of Attacks

Austrian police have arrested two men accused of planning an attack on concerts Taylor Swift scheduled in Vienna this week. The American singer’s three concerts were canceled as a precaution by organizers. Taylor Swift was scheduled to perform on August 8, 9, and 10. “With the confirmation from the authorities of a planned terrorist attack at the Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel all three concerts for everyone’s safety,” Barracuda Music wrote on Instagram.

The first arrested person is a 19-year-old, stopped in a small town an hour’s drive from Vienna, Ternitz. His identity has not been revealed, but it is known that he had sworn allegiance to ISIS, after an online radicalization. Like the other arrested person, he had intended to strike during one of the three evenings. Franz Ruf, director general for public security at the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, explained that the investigations had revealed «preparatory activities» for an attack by the nineteen-year-old who was taken from his home. Here they were Suspicious “chemical substances” seized.

The second suspect who was arrested on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 7, in Vienna is said to be 17 years old. The Austrian press, not confirmed by the authorities, spoke of three other suspected attackers on the run.

According to Corriere della Sera the preventive operation confirms a series of elements found throughout Europe over the course of the year: first of all the presence of young militants in the old continent and the choice of large events such as concerts as targets. According to the newspaper, ISIS would continue to be attractive for young people in Europe and would have infiltrated militants arriving from Asia.