A man in Austria, identified as Beran A., admitted to supporting the Islamic State group and planning an attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna nearly two years ago. The 21-year-old faced charges of terrorism and being part of a terrorist organization, with a potential maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
Beran A. and another individual, Arda K., intended to carry out coordinated attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan in 2024 in the name of the Islamic State. However, they did not execute their plans.
Authorities discovered bomb-making materials in Beran A.’s apartment a day before the scheduled Taylor Swift concert. The canceled shows, with attendance of up to 30,000 people outside the stadium and 65,000 inside, were a precautionary measure due to the security threat posed by the suspects.
Swift expressed her disappointment over the concert cancellations, acknowledging the impact on fans who had traveled from various locations to attend the event. The incident drew parallels to the 2017 attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, UK, where 22 individuals lost their lives in a suicide bombing.
Prosecutors also brought terrorism charges against Arda K. in connection with the planned attacks in other countries. A third individual involved in the plot, Hasan E., allegedly assaulted a security guard at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Hasan E. has been detained in Saudi Arabia pending trial.
Beran A. and Arda K. did not carry out their intended attacks in Turkey and the U.A.E. Instead, Beran A. returned to Vienna and focused on targeting the Taylor Swift concert.