The director of public security in Vienna has confirmed that chemical substances have been located within the home of a 19-year-old Austrian person suspected of planning an attack on Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna.
The public security director of Austria’s Interior Ministry, Franz Ruf, told public broadcaster ORF’s Oe1 programme yesterday (7 August) that investigators had found chemical substances and technical devices at the suspect’s house.
They are now being evaluated.
Alongside this, Ruf confirmed that a few weeks ago that the suspect in question had uploaded an oath of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group militia online.
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The cancellations of the concerts devastated Swifties across the globe, many of whom had spent thousands of euros on travel and accommodation in Austria’s expensive capital city for the US singer’s sold-out Eras Tour shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Ernst Happel Stadium.
The venue was deserted on Thursday morning apart from media filming outside.
The alert follows last night's (7 August) news that a total of three Taylor Swift Eras Tour concerts have been cancelled due to fears over a potential terror attack plot in Austria.
Authorities were reported to have arrested two alleged extremists.
Both detainees were apprehended and arrested under suspicion of planning attacks at large events in Vienna, including the upcoming Taylor Swift shows.
The now-cancelled concerts were scheduled to happen tonight (8 August), as well as on Friday and Saturday of this week at the Ernst Happel Stadium.
Each day, approximately 65,000 fans per day had been expected to attend the tour and watch Swift perform.
The head of police in Vienna estimated around 22,000 fans could have been expected to listen to the show from outside of the venue.
Events organiser Barracuda Music confirmed the news in a statement on Instagram yesterday, writing: "Due to confirmation by government officials of a planned terrorist attack at the Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three planned shows for everyone's safety."
They continued: "All tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 working days."
The concert cancellations came a matter of hours after authorities in the area were said to have amped up security efforts as a result of the forthcoming concerts.
Concertgoers were urged to factor in more travel time.
Prior to the arrests, a police official told the press said there were no plans to outright cancel the concerts as 'the concrete danger had been minimised'.
Topics: News, Taylor Swift
Kya Buller