2024-08-07 21:24:21
Due to the threat of a terrorist attack, the American singer Taylor Swift canceled three concerts in Vienna at the last minute. The Austrian agency APA reported about it late on Wednesday evening, citing the organizers.
“The authorities have confirmed that terrorists were going to attack the Ernst Happel Stadium. Unfortunately, due to this, we have no choice but to cancel all three scheduled performances due to security reasons,” wrote the organizing agency Barracuda Music on the Instagram social network. It promises to automatically refund all tickets to Taylor Swift fans within the next 10 days.
The 34-year-old pop star and winner of 14 Grammy awards was scheduled to perform at Austria’s largest Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna this Thursday, Friday and again on Saturday on the occasion of the current concert series called The Eras Tour. According to Reuters, the organizers expected around 65,000 people each evening.
The Austrian police announced early Wednesday that they had arrested two people suspected of planning terrorist attacks during concerts. According to the ČTK agency, the announcement was preceded by a several-hour police intervention south of Vienna. Franz Ruf, director general for public security at the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, later confirmed that a 19-year-old man was arrested and taken into custody in the Lower Austrian town of Ternitz on Wednesday morning. In the afternoon, another person was arrested in the capital.
According to Rufo, the detained youth swore allegiance to the so-called Islamic State a few weeks ago. According to the findings of the investigators so far, this Austrian citizen was radicalized on the Internet. Authorities found chemicals on him, which they are now investigating. The police evacuated neighboring houses and part of the home for the elderly to be safe. The investigation is continuing, police said early Wednesday.
At that moment, she still expected that the Taylor Swift concerts would take place, even with increased security measures. The news that all three performances were canceled was published by the organizers around 10 pm in the evening.
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