Police monitor security situation after Taylor Swift shows cancelled in Vienna
Two suspects arrested in Vienna.
The Slovak police have issued reassurances that there is no immediate threat of a terrorist attack within Slovakia, despite concerns stemming from the recent cancellation of Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna.
“There is no imminent threat of a terrorist attack in connection with this situation in Slovakia,” the police stated on August 8.
In response to the concert cancellations, the police have implemented a series of preventive measures, though they have not disclosed specific details about these actions.
Although no official fan club exists in Slovakia, local Swifties have formed a close-knit community through social media, writes the Closer website. Many of them had planned to attend the Vienna concerts, sparing no expense on accommodations, travel, and tickets—sometimes costing hundreds of euros.
The decision to cancel all three of Taylor Swift’s scheduled concerts at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium, which were set to take place from Thursday to Saturday, came shortly after Austrian authorities announced the arrest of two individuals suspected of plotting attacks on events in and around Vienna.
The arrests were made on August 7.
Austrian police detained two suspected extremists—a 19-year-old, apprehended in Ternitz, and a 17-year-old Austrian of Turkish and Croatian descent, arrested in Vienna. According to Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, materials linked to extremist groups, including ISIS and al-Qaeda, were discovered in one suspect’s residence. Authorities also found chemicals and technical equipment in the possession of the 19-year-old Austrian of North Macedonian descent.
Minister Karner described the situation as serious, but emphasised that the arrests had successfully averted a potential tragedy.
Still, in the announcement of the concert’s cancellation, fans were also advised against wearing T-shirts featuring the singer’s likeness or bracelets around Vienna.
The cancelled Taylor Swift concerts had been sold out, with an estimated 170,000 fans expected to attend.
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