American singer Taylor Swift’s three concerts in Vienna, scheduled for this week, have been cancelled following a planned Islamist attack plot. The cancellation was announced by show organiser Barracuda Music late on Wednesday, after the government confirmed a planned attack at the Ernst Happel Stadium.
Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer stated that a tragedy was prevented, and all tickets purchased for the concerts will be refunded. The government had earlier confirmed the arrest of a 19-year-old Islamic State sympathiser, who had planned an attack in the Vienna region, with a focus on Swift’s upcoming shows.
Austria’s top security chief, Franz Ruf, revealed that the suspect was detained in Lower Austria, about an hour from the capital, early on Wednesday.