Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shows in Vienna have been canceled because of what Austrian police say was a planned terrorist attack targeting the concerts.
“With confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” Barracuda Music, an event organizer in the city, posted Wednesday evening on Instagram.
Taylor Nation, an Instagram account run by Swift’s team, reposted the message to its story.
According to the post, all tickets will be refunded and ticketholders can visit a website to request refunds.
Swift's website also appears to reflect the cancellation. The Vienna shows under the "tour" tab now have a note accompanying the date and location information.
"*All tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days," it says.
Swift has yet to say anything on social media, nor has she confirmed the cancellations.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer shared his disappointment over the cancellations on X and said the situation was serious. He thanked officials for identifying the threat early and preventing what could have been a tragedy.
Swift was scheduled to perform at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for the international leg of the Eras Tour.
Earlier, officials said two people were arrested Wednesday in connection with allegations of plans to attack major events in Vienna, including Swift's coming concerts.
Two U.S. officials familiar with the investigation said Austrian law enforcement is looking for an additional person or people who may have some knowledge of the plans.
One of the individuals who were arrested by Austrian federal and state policewas a 19-year-old who is alleged to have pledged his allegiance to ISIS, Vienna State Police Director Franz Rufand Police Chief Gerhard Pürstl said at a news conference Wednesday.
Ruf said Thursday in an interview with Austria’s public broadcaster ORF that the suspect had uploaded an oath of allegiance to the current leader of ISIS to an internet account just a few weeks ago.
The pair had aspirational plans for attacking Vienna’s major events sites and specifically had homed in on this coming weekend’s Swift concerts, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the matter. They both became radicalized through the internet and are alleged to have had specific and detailed plans for how to carry out an attack, the officials said.
They had been under surveillance for some time and were well-known to the Austrians, the officials said.
A bomb squad found chemical substances when the 19-year-old was arrested, authorities said. Investigators were working to determine whether the substances could have been used to build a bomb, authorities said.
Officials said that the 19-year-old bought chemicals but not all the components needed to assemble a bomb and that most likely he would not have been able to do before this weekend’s events.
However, the officials say Austrian law enforcement believed that they should be taken into custody to make sure the pair did not try to conduct an attack using other means.
Ultimately, the two were arrested as officials announced a robust security plan had been put in place for the Swift concerts and Vienna at large. Swift’s team then announced that the concerts would be canceled.
Austria’s Cobra unit, which is similar to the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, assisted with the arrests.
Two U.S. officials familiar with the investigation said Austrian law enforcement are looking for an additional individual or individuals who may have some knowledge of this attempted attack.
Officials in Europe and in the U.S. told NBC News that there was no specific plot to injure Swift herself but that the attack was focused on the event.
A police official had said earlier that there were no plans to cancel the concerts and told reporters that “the concrete danger has been minimized.” It is not clear why those plans changed.
Swift has spoken about her concerns of a terrorist attack at one of her stadium shows. In 2019, she told Elle magazine it was her biggest fear.
“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,” Swift said ahead of the Lover Tour, which was then canceled because of Covid.
She added, “There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense, and effort put into keeping my fans safe.”
“My fear of violence has continued into my personal life,” she said. “I carry QuikClot army grade bandage dressing, which is for gunshot or stab wounds.”
Swift rarely cancels shows. Most recently, she postponed the second of three Eras shows in Rio de Janeiro because of extreme temperatures after a fan died at the first of the shows owing to the heat.
Tom Winter is a New York-based correspondent covering crime, courts, terrorism and financial fraud on the East Coast for the NBC News Investigative Unit.
Andy Eckardt is the Deputy Director, Europe, for NBC News. He is based in Mainz, Germany.
Kate Brannelly
contributed
.
