Why were Taylor Swift's Vienna concerts canceled? Austrian police arrest two suspects for planning terror attack

Three of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concerts in Vienna were recently canceled due to what Austrian authorities say were "confirmed planned terrorist attacks" targeting her upcoming shows.

Austrian concert promoter Barracuda Music posted the show cancelation on Instagram on Wednesday, August 7, evening, shortly after police arrested two men related to the terrorist plots early in the day. The message said:

"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."

In the same post, the event organizer noted that all Eras Tour tickets for the Vienna events will be refunded within the next ten business days.

The Midnight singer's official fan club and marketing team, Taylor Nation, reshared the message to its Instagram Story. Swift's official website also reflects the cancelation, with her scheduled Vienna concerts now appearing to have notes in their date and location information.

Taylor Swift was supposed to perform a three-day back-to-back concert at the Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

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Taylor Swift's Vienna shows are canceled after two men were arrested in connection with the terror plots

Earlier on Wednesday, before Taylor Swift's Vienna shows were officially canceled, Austrian federal and state police said that two men related to the planned terrorist attacks were arrested. Additionally, authorities confirmed that the men are targeting major events in the city, including the Fortnight singer's concerts.

Franz Ruf, the Vienna State Police Director, and Police Chief Gerhard Purstl held a press conference to share details of the arrest. They mentioned that one of the two suspects the police had apprehended was a 19-year-old who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State early in July.

International reports noted that both suspects were taken into police custody after a raid in the 19-year-old's residence where authorities found various chemicals and substances. A bomb squad was allegedly brought to the area and investigators continue to find out if the substances could have been used to build explosives.

Both men have been under surveillance for a time and were allegedly radicalized via the internet and supposedly have specific and detailed plans for how they were going to do the attack. Ruf said that Vienna was a major target of the attack, but the 19-year-old had a particular focus on the pop star's record-breaking Eras Tour concerts.

Taylor Swift has previously spoken out about her fear of going on tour for the same thing that is happening. Talking about the Manchester Arena bombing and the shooting at a concert in Las Vegas, the popstar told Elle in 2019:

"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."

Before Taylor Swift's event organizer canceled the shows, Ruf initially said that the singer's concerts would go on because the concrete danger has been minimized, adding that they are increasing the security measures in the venue.

After the canceled Vienna concerts, Swift is headed to London for a slew of shows starting August 15 as part of the international leg of the highest-grossing Eras Tour before circling back to Canada.