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Organizers Cancel Taylor Swift Concerts in Vienna over Fears of Terrorist Attack

Taylor Swift's during a concert (File/The AP)
Taylor Swift's during a concert (File/The AP)
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Organizers Cancel Taylor Swift Concerts in Vienna over Fears of Terrorist Attack

Taylor Swift's during a concert (File/The AP)
Taylor Swift's during a concert (File/The AP)

Taylor Swift's three concerts in Vienna this week were cancelled after the government confirmed a planned attack at the stadium, the organizer announced late on Wednesday, and Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer said "a tragedy was prevented".

"Thanks to the intensive cooperation of our police and the newly established DSN with foreign services, the threat was identified early on, combated and a tragedy prevented," Nehammer said in a post on social media platform X. DSN is Austria's Directorate for Security and Intelligence, Reuters reported.

"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 said in a post on Instagram, adding all tickets would be automatically refunded.

Austrian police on Wednesday detained two people suspected of plotting attacks on concerts, Franz Ruf, director general for public security, said at a news conference on Wednesday evening.

"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," Ruf said, adding that the suspect, an Austrian citizen, had pledged allegiance to ISIS. 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.

Earlier on Wednesday before the cancellation announcement, police had said the events would take place but with increased entry checks and personal searches, with deployment of special units including anti-terror and bomb disposal teams, advising the public to arrive early at the events.

Three Taylor Swift concerts were scheduled to take place in Vienna from Thursday to Saturday. Police had been expecting around 65,000 attendees at each show, as well as up to 15,000 people outside the stadium without tickets, which fed security concerns.

The shows were to be part of the record-breaking Eras Tour by the American singer-songwriter which started on March 17, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona, US, and is set to conclude on Dec. 8, 2024, in Vancouver, Canada.

Swift, 34, has not yet commented on the cancellations on her official Instagram account which has 283 million followers.

The singer has been taking Europe by storm, prompting some pundits to envisage an economic windfall as fans flock to dozens of sold-out shows from Dublin to Warsaw and beyond.

After Vienna, Swift was set to sing in London where six concerts are scheduled at Wembley Stadium, starting on Aug. 15.

 

 

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No Temporary Shelters, No Air Raid Drills: As Iran Braces for War, its Citizens Are Kept in the Dark

Iranians walk in a road near a billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 05 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk in a road near a billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 05 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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No Temporary Shelters, No Air Raid Drills: As Iran Braces for War, its Citizens Are Kept in the Dark

Iranians walk in a road near a billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 05 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk in a road near a billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 05 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

All government agencies and offices were closed Wednesday in Tehran, and in 13 provinces, including some along the western and eastern borders, hours for government offices were limited to 6 a.m. to 10 a.m, the New York Times reported.

Iran also issued a notice to civilian aviation, warning that “gunfire will take place” for several hours on Wednesday night and into Thursday over parts of the country, it said.

As Iran prepares to follow through on its vow to “severely punish” Israel over the assassination of the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week, it is raising war jitters among the public. Yet there were few, if any, signs on the streets of Tehran and other cities that a conflict may be looming.

The government said that the shutdown on Wednesday occurred merely because of extreme heat and that the closings of airspace were for military exercises.

But the explanations belie the statements from officials that, as the acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri, told state media on Tuesday, “Iran’s response will be definitive and severe.”

While the time and scope of Iran’s response remain unclear — whether it will act alone or in coordination with regional militias like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen — the disconnect between the escalating rhetoric and the nonchalance about preparing the public is striking.

“We are in the dark, clinging to news programs on satellite television to figure out what is happening because our officials are not telling us anything,” said Maliheh, 66, a retiree in Tehran. Like others interviewed by telephone for the New York Times article, she asked that her surname be withheld for fear of retribution by the authorities.

The government has not issued any directives about what citizens should do if Israel responds with counterstrikes: no temporary shelters; no air raid drills; no warnings to stock up on emergency supplies; and no contingency plans for hospitals in the event of a strike.

“The answer is nothing, zero,” said Ehsan, a 41-year-old business owner in Tehran, when asked if he had heard of any public safety instructions. “The people are an afterthought in our country.”

On social media and in interviews in several cities, Iranians said they were anxious and confused, the New York Times reported.

“The situation is beyond our tolerance,” said Parisa, 37, an artist in Tehran. “Many people who never wanted to leave the country are now thinking about immigration. Everyone is sad, aggressive and worried.”

But some others questioned whether the war chatter was justified, doubting that an Israeli counterstrike to whatever Iran decides to do would disrupt daily routines or critical services such as electricity and water.

Mostafa, 36, a computer engineer in Rasht in northwest Iran, criticized the government’s support for militant groups in the region, saying it placed Iran in Israel’s crosshairs. Still, Mostafa said, he did not believe an all-out war was coming. “It will be a remote war and in the form of destroying specific targets,” he said. “So I am not that worried.”

Others said they were already emotionally exhausted from months of tumultuous events, each enough on its own to unnerve a nation, including a terrorist attack claimed by ISIS that killed over 200 people; exchanges of missile strikes with neighboring countries; nearly going to the brink of war with the United States and Israel; and the death of the president and foreign minister in a helicopter crash.

In the past week, the already battered currency plunged anew against the dollar while the stock market tumbled.

“We are just sick and tired of waking up every day to news that someone died, something blew up, the price of the dollar went up, and recently we have to worry about going to war every few months,” said Behdad, 39, of Tehran, who said his import-export business was suffering as a result.