Three shows were called off after Austrian officials arrested two men and accused them of plotting a terrorist attack, and said that one had been focused on her upcoming stadium concerts.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has been canceled in Austria after officials announced the arrest of two men whom they accused of plotting a terrorist attack in Vienna, with one of them focusing on several stadium shows the singer had planned for this week.
An Austrian concert promoter, Barracuda Music, announced the cancellation of the three shows in a post on Instagram. Nearly 200,000 people had been expected to attend the Vienna concerts, which were to start on Thursday.
“We have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” the Instagram post said.
Officials in Austria said at a news conference on Wednesday that two men had been arrested and accused of plotting a terrorist attack. One of them, a 19-year-old Austrian citizen, had recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State online and had focused on the Eras Tour as a potential target, said Franz Ruf, an Austrian public security official.
Law enforcement carried out a raid at the man’s home in Ternitz, a town south of Vienna, and found chemical substances, Mr. Ruf said, noting that officials sent a bomb squad to the home.
The other man was arrested in Vienna.
“Both suspects had become radicalized on the internet and had taken concrete preparatory actions for a terrorist attack,” said a news release from the Austrian interior department.
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Source: Music - nytimes.com
