Taylor Swift’s three Eras Tour concerts in Vienna were canceled after government officials confirmed a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, the local concert promoter announced Wednesday.
The security situation was very serious and a tragedy was averted, Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer wrote in a social media post.
“We have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” said Barracuda Music, the promoter for the Austrian shows. “All tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days.”
Swift had been set to perform in Vienna on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Earlier Wednesday, Vienna Federal Ministry of the Interior officials confirmed the arrest of two individuals who are “suspected of having planned attacks at major events,” including Swift’s concerts.
“During our investigations, we identified preparatory actions and noted that the 19-year-old suspect had a particular focus on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna,” said Franz Ruf, director general for public security. He alleged that the suspect, an Austrian citizen, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
Another suspect was later arrested in Vienna. Police searched the residence of one of the suspects in Ternitz, Lower Austria, and were analyzing items from the home. Local media, citing police sources, said three suspects were still on the run.
“The cancellation of the Taylor Swift concerts by the organizers is a bitter disappointment for all fans in Austria,” Nehammer wrote in an X post translated by the social media site.
He thanked emergency services that are investigating at “full speed.”
‘Making sure that her fans are kept safe’
Officials initially said police would increase security measures at the shows, but the performances were ultimately called off. Swift has performed 126 Eras Tour concerts so far, and these are her first cancellations. Other dates have been postponed due to weather.
This isn’t the first time a concert has become a target. In 2017, a suicide bomber killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. The brothers responsible for the attack wanted to “advance the ideology of Islam,” according to the judge who sentenced the surviving sibling.
“It’s a choice you never want to make, but she would have a really good rapport with the local police and government agencies,” says Andrea Davis, the president and CEO of the Resiliency Initiative, a global consulting company focused on crisis management and risk mitigation planning. “These were credible threats, and it was the right thing to do. She has a pattern of making sure that her fans are kept safe.”
In fact, Swift confessed in Elle magazine in 2019 ahead of her Reputation Stadium Tour that her biggest fear concerns her fans’ safety.
“After the Manchester Arena bombing and the Vegas concert shooting, I was completely terrified to go on tour this time because I didn’t know how we were going to keep 3 million fans safe over seven months,” she wrote. “There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense, and effort put into keeping my fans safe.”
Swift’s only remaining European tour dates are five nights at Wembley Stadium in London from Aug. 15-20. She then returns to North America in October before wrapping up the Eras Tour in December.
Taylor Swift fans react: ‘It’s really devastating’
It’s not uncommon for Swift’s fans to cross oceans to see her perform, and many ticketholders are heartbroken over the cancellations.
Emily Reyes drove with her boyfriend John Bechtel and his sister Hannah Bechtel from Greenville, South Carolina, to Charlotte, North Carolina. “We paid for parking and we had just gotten around to our gate when I saw that all the Vienna shows had been canceled,” Reyes, 23, says.
In April, she got three tickets to a Vienna show because it was cheaper than Swift’s fall shows in Miami, and she wanted to surprise her sister-in-law. She made a custom “Reputation” catsuit to wear Saturday night.
“A lot of people are traveling for these shows, and it’s really devastating,” she says. “I wish that they could have rescheduled and just had a really high security to check everything and all belongings — even if that means clear bags and getting patted down and going through metal detectors.”
