Taylor Swift Concerts in Vienna Canceled Over Terror Threat

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Facts

  • Organizers have canceled three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna, Austria, after authorities said they had foiled a terror plot (inspired by the Islamic State (ISIS) group), which had planned to target the events.[1]
  • This comes after three teenagers were arrested for allegedly planning a suicide attack at the concert venue. Investigators found chemicals, explosives, detonators, and counterfeit euros in the suspects' possession.[2]
  • Austrian authorities claim that one of the teenagers 'had a particular focus on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna' and had recently pledged allegiance to the ISIS terror group. At least three suspects reportedly remain on the run.[3]
  • The concerts, scheduled to take place from Thursday through Saturday, were expected to draw 65K attendees each day, with police anticipating an additional 10K to 15K fans would gather outside of the venue.[4]
  • Officials claim that the teenagers had planned to target the concerts, but not harm Swift. It's unclear why initial plans to move forward with the concerts — when police said 'the concrete danger' had been 'minimized' — subsequently changed.[5]
  • Swift hasn't commented on the incident, but her team acknowledged the cancellations on social media, stating that all tickets will be refunded within the next 10 days.[6][1]

Sources: [1]BBC News, [2]CNN, [3]Al Jazeera, [4]ABC News, [5]NBC and [6]Associated Press.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Associated Press. While it may be disappointing for fans to have these eagerly awaited concerts canceled, the decision was made first and foremost with their safety in mind. With deadly attacks at concerts like those in Manchester and Vegas still in recent memory, authorities have decided to be better safe than sorry so as to protect the public. It's likely that a very serious threat was foiled — fans should be grateful that intelligence authorities thwarted it before it was too late.
  • Narrative B, as provided by ABC News. It still needs to be clarified why the concerts were canceled. While the intention behind the threat seems clear, the explosive devices found in connection with the suspects would likely not have been ready in time to be used during this weekend's concerts. Additionally, before the cancellation was announced, Austrian authorities had announced that the concerts would take place, but with additional security measures. The public deserves to know the whole story, as this decision has caused widespread disappointment and inconvenience to those who planned to attend.

Predictions