Taylor Swift Vienna concerts cancelled, Chancellor says tragedy averted

YEREVAN, AUGUST 8, ARMENPRESS. 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,” Reuters reports.

"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.

"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.

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.