Taylor Swift has been forced to cancel three Eras Tour shows after government officials uncovered a planned attack on the venue.
Swift was due to play at Ernst Happel Stadium in Austria’s capital on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On Wednesday — just one day before the string of shows were set to begin — organisers pulled the plug.
“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,” event organiser Barracuda Music wrote in a post on Instagram.
According to the General Director for Public Safety Franz Ruf, authorities arrested a 19-year-old Austrian citizen on Wednesday morning after investigations revealed that the suspect had a “particular focus on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna”.
A second arrest took place that afternoon, with no further details about the suspect given.
“According to the current status of the investigation, the two suspects became radicalised via the internet,” Ruf said, per the BBC.
Ruf also claimed that the 19-year-old gave “an oath of allegiance” to the Islamic State.
The cancellation of the gigs occurred a few hours after authorities revealed that they would be amping up the security measures at the Vienna Eras Tour to protect the projected 65,000 concertgoers each day.
Fans have taken to social media to share their disappointment over missing out on the Eras Tour.
Back in 2019, Swift revealed in an interview with Elle that one of her biggest fears was gathering large crowds following the 2017 terror attack at Ariana Grande‘s show in Manchester which killed 22 people and injured hundreds.
“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,” she said.
“There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense, and effort put into keeping my fans safe.”
Surely Swift is disappointed to cancel the shows for so many fans. However, I think we can all agree safety in these situations is paramount.
Taylor Swift is yet to comment on the cancellations.
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