Austrian authorities said Thursday (8/8) that the two suspects in a foiled plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna appeared to have been inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda.
Investigators found bomb-making materials in one of their homes. Officials added that one of the two men confessed to planning to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.”
The three sold-out concerts were canceled Wednesday because of the planned attack. The cancellations have caused grief among Swift fans, known as Swifties, around the world. Many of them had spent thousands of dollars traveling and booking accommodation in the expensive Austrian capital to attend the Eras Tour show at Ernst Happel Stadium. The stadium was empty Thursday morning.
Europe, captivated by American superstar Taylor Swift, has made the German city of Gelsenkirchen change its name to “Swiftkirchen” before the concert last July.
Concert organizers in Austria estimate that at each concert, there are around 65,000 fans inside the stadium at each concert and another 30,000 spectators outside.
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the thwarted attack was planned to take place on Thursday (8/8) or Friday (9/8).
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, at a press conference on Thursday, said “I understand very well that those who wanted to enjoy the concert in person are very sad… Fathers and mothers are looking after their daughters and sons, who are full of enthusiasm and anticipation for the concert. However, it is also important to know that in these critical times, safety is the most important thing.”
London Concert Still Going On
Taylor Swift is also scheduled to perform at London's Wembley Stadium for five concerts between August 15 and 20, which will conclude her record-breaking Eras Tour.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said while he understood Vienna's reasons for cancelling Swift's concert, “We will go ahead with it.”
He stressed that learning from the 2017 attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, authorities in the capital had prepared to secure Taylor Swift's show. In the 2017 attack, a suicide bomber who had prepared a backpack filled with explosives at Manchester Arena blew himself up at the end of the concert as thousands of fans were leaving the venue. Twenty-two people were killed in that incident.
Meanwhile, in July, three teenage girls were killed and 10 others injured in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class. Swift tweeted at the time that she was “deeply shocked” by the violence.
Upload Pledge of Allegiance to ISIS
In Austria, authorities said the main suspect confessed to having begun planning the attack in July. The 19-year-old had also posted a pledge of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group on the internet a few weeks earlier.
The head of the State Security and Intelligence Directorate, Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, said the suspect was “clearly radicalized towards ISIS and thought that killing infidels was the right thing to do.”
He added that the suspect “wanted to carry out an attack outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using a knife or even using an explosive device that he had made.”
Vienna Interior Ministry Public Security Director General Franz Ruf said that in a raid on the suspect's home in Ternitz, south of Vienna, investigators found chemicals and technical equipment indicating “concrete preparatory action.”
Authorities said they also found materials related to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda groups at the home of a second suspect, a 17-year-old. The suspect, who has so far declined to speak, was hired days ago by a company that provides unspecified services at concert venues.
The 19-year-old is an Austrian citizen originally from North Macedonia. The 17-year-old is an Austrian citizen of Turkish and Croatian descent.
The two teenagers were arrested on Tuesday (6/8). In line with Austrian privacy rules, none of the suspects' names have been released.
The suspects had undergone apparent social changes recently, authorities said. The 19-year-old had quit his job but said he “still had big plans”; the other had recently broken up with his girlfriend. Neither suspect appeared to have tickets to either show, Haijawi-Pirchner said.
Chancellor Karner said Austria's intelligence agency had worked with foreign intelligence agencies to catch the two teenagers. He did not name the intelligence agencies, but added that the assistance was necessary because Austrian investigators, unlike other foreign intelligence agencies, cannot legally monitor text messages.
United States intelligence agency (Central Intelligence Agency/The CIA, on Thursday (8/8) declined to say whether US intelligence agencies played a role in the investigation.
However, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said his department and the wider US government had been in contact with Austrian officials about the alleged plot.
No other suspects are being sought, although a 15-year-old who had contact with the two suspects is also being questioned by police, Karner said.
“The situation is serious. However, we can also say: a tragedy has been prevented,” he added.
Barracuda Music Refunds Ticket Fees
Concert organizers Barracuda Music said in an Instagram post Wednesday night that they had “no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone's safety.”
Barracuda said all tickets would be refunded. The same message was also posted on Swift's official website. Austrian rail operator OeBB also said it would refund fans for unused train tickets to the concert.
Swift has not spoken publicly about the canceled plans or shows. “Taylor Nation,” a verified Instagram page widely believed to be run by her team, reposted Barracuda Music’s announcement in a “story,” which can only be viewed for 24 hours. The main account has not uploaded anything.
Swift's biggest fear is that such large-scale violence could occur at her concerts, the superstar told the magazine. Elle in 2019 ahead of the tour Lover Tourwhich was ultimately canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The attack on Grande’s concert, as well as the 2017 mass shooting at a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip that killed 58 people, have left Swift worried as she prepares to tour the world.
“I was really scared to do[the Lover Tour]this time because I didn't know how we were going to keep 3 million fans safe for seven months,” she told the magazine. “There's a lot of planning, money and effort that goes into keeping my fans safe.”
An official inquiry found in 2023 that Britain's domestic intelligence agency, MI5, did not act quickly enough on vital information it received and missed a vital opportunity to prevent the Manchester bombing, Britain's deadliest extremist attack. (em/ft)
