Austrian Authorities Foil ISIS Plot Targeting Taylor Swift Concert

A 21-year-old man accused of masterminding an ISIS-linked plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna had also planned potential attacks in Dubai and Istanbul, Austrian prosecutors have revealed.

The suspect, identified in Austrian media as Beran A, has been formally charged with terrorism offences over an alleged plan to target Swift’s 2024 Eras Tour stop in the Austrian capital.

Three scheduled concerts at Vienna’s 65,000-capacity Ernst Happel Stadium were cancelled after foreign intelligence tipped off authorities, allowing police to foil the plot just days before the shows were due to take place. The incident sent shockwaves across Austria and among fans worldwide.

In a statement issued on Monday, Vienna prosecutors said the suspect is also accused of involvement in a separate murder plot in Saudi Arabia, as well as planning attacks in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey that were ultimately not carried out.

According to prosecutors, he allegedly assisted and encouraged another suspect, currently detained in Saudi Arabia, who carried out a stabbing attack against a security guard at the Grand Mosque in Makkah in March 2024. Four others were injured in the incident.

“With him, and with a further suspect being separately pursued, [Beran A] is also accused of planning attacks in Dubai and Istanbul, which ultimately were not carried out,” the prosecutor’s office stated.

Prosecutors allege the suspect was a member of ISIS and conducted online research into improvised explosive devices used by the group. He is further accused of inciting terrorist offences via social media platform Snapchat, distributing ISIS propaganda online, and pledging allegiance to the organisation.

If convicted, he faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

Following the cancellation of the Vienna concerts, disappointed fans gathered in the city centre. Swift later expressed gratitude to Austrian authorities, saying that thanks to their swift action, “we were grieving concerts and not lives.”

Austria has previously faced extremist violence, including a 2020 attack in central Vienna carried out by an ISIS sympathiser that left four people dead.