Current:Home > 新闻中心Organizers cancel Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna over fears of an attack -PrimeWealth Guides
Organizers cancel Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna over fears of an attack
View
Date:2025-04-14 13:59:48
VIENNA (AP) — Organizers of three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna this week called them off on Wednesday after officials announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack on an event in the Vienna area such as the concerts.
Swift was scheduled to play at the Austrian capital’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as part of her Eras Tour.
Event organizer Barracuda Music said in a post on its Instagram channel late Wednesday that “we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.” It cited government officials’ “confirmation” of a planned attack at the stadium.
Earlier Wednesday, authorities said they had arrested two suspected extremists, one of whom appeared to be planning an attack on an event in the Vienna area such as the upcoming concerts.
The 19-year-old main suspect was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and the second person in the Austrian capital.
Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria’s interior ministry, said authorities were aware of “preparatory actions” for a possible attack “and also that there is a focus by the 19-year-old perpetrator on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna,” the Austria Press Agency reported.
Ruf said the 19-year-old had pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group.
The Austrian citizen is believed to have become radicalized on the internet. Ruf said that chemical substances were secured and were being evaluated. He didn’t give more details.
The cancelation came hours after authorities said security measures for the Swift concerts would be stepped up. Ruf said that there would be a special focus among other things on entry checks and concertgoers should plan a bit more time.
Vienna police chief Gerhard Pürstl said at the same time that, while any concrete danger had be en minimized, an abstract risk justified raising security.
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said after the cancelation that the country’s police and intelligence service had “contributed everything to ensure safe events” and that the organizer made the decision to cancel the concerts, APA reported. He said there had been “close networking with foreign security authorities.”
Barracuda Music said that “all tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days.” The same wording was posted under the Vienna dates on Swift’s official website.
The Vienna stadium had been sold out for the planned concerts, APA reported, with an estimated 170,000 fans expected for the concerts in Austria.
Swift fans took to social media to express their devastation at missing out on one of the superstar’s shows. Some who posted on social network X lamented months of now-wasted efforts to make friendship bracelets and pick out fashionable outfits for the performance.
In 2017, an attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England killed 22 people. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi set up a knapsack bomb in Manchester Arena at the end of Grande’s concert as thousands of young fans were leaving. More than 100 people were injured. Abedi died in the explosion.
An official inquiry reported last year that Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, didn’t act swiftly enough on key information and missed a significant opportunity to prevent the bombing, the deadliest extremist attack in the U.K. in recent years.
veryGood! (4448)
Related
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Bank of America says that widespread service outages have been fully resolved
- Toilet paper not expected to see direct impacts from port strike: 'People need to calm down'
- Taylor Swift-themed guitar smashed by a Texas man is up for sale... again
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- Jurors in trial of Salman Rushdie’s attacker likely won’t hear about his motive
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Body Art
- Photo shows U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler wearing blackface at college Halloween party in 2006
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Florida's new homeless law bans sleeping in public, mandates camps for unhoused people
Ranking
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Ex-NYPD commissioner rejected discipline for cops who raided Brooklyn bar now part of federal probe
- Did You Realize Kristen Bell and Adam Brody’s Gossip Girl Connection?
- SEC showdowns highlight college football Week 6 expert predictions for every Top 25 game
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- Blac Chyna Reassures Daughter Dream, 7, About Her Appearance in Heartwarming Video
- Halle Bailey and DDG Break Up Less Than a Year After Welcoming Baby Boy
- Watch: Pete Alonso – the 'Polar Bear' – sends Mets to NLDS with ninth-inning home run
Recommendation
Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
Alleged Kim Porter memoir pulled from Amazon after children slam book
Search continues for missing 16-year-old at-risk Texas girl days after Amber Alert issued
Amazon hiring 250,000 seasonal workers before holiday season: What to know about roles, pay
The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
Olympian Suni Lee Calls Out MyKayla Skinner's Put Down to Gymnastics Team
Ohio girl concedes cutting off tanker that spilled chemical last year in Illinois, killing 5
Aces guards have been 'separation factor' last two postseasons. Now, they're MIA