Current:Home > ContactPolice Weigh in on Taylor Swift's London Concerts After Alleged Terror Attack Plot Foiled in Vienna -NextFrontier Finance
Police Weigh in on Taylor Swift's London Concerts After Alleged Terror Attack Plot Foiled in Vienna
View
Date:2025-04-18 23:29:06
Taylor Swift's concerts in London will go on.
While the “Blank Space” singer's three shows in Vienna were canceled in the wake of a foiled potential terror attack, five shows at Wembley Stadium will take place as scheduled, according to London Metropolitan Police.
"The Met works closely with venue security teams and other partners to ensure there are appropriate security and policing plans in place," a spokesperson for the organization told multiple outlets. "There is nothing to indicate that the matters being investigated by the Austrian authorities will have an impact on upcoming events here in London."
The spokesperson added, "As always, we will continue to keep any new information under careful review."
Swift will close out the European leg of her Eras Tour in Wembley, playing five shows from Aug. 15 to Aug. 20.
The confirmation of Swift’s upcoming concerts comes as new information regarding the foiled terror plot continues to emerge.
On Aug. 6, authorities in Austria arrested an Austrian man, 19, over an alleged plot to carry out a suicide attack at a Swift concert in Vienna, which prompted the cancellation of all three of her upcoming shows in the city's Ernst-Happel-Stadion soccer stadium, which were to take place between Aug. 8 and Aug. 10 and draw an estimated 170,000 fans.
"I'm sure Vienna has got its own reasons to cancel the Taylor Swift concerts," London Mayor Sadiq Khan told Sky News. "We're going to carry on, working closely with police [and] ensuring that the Taylor Swift concerts can take place in London safely."
The suspect of the foiled Vienna attack had confessed that he had planned to kill himself and a large number of other people with knives and explosive devices, Austrian officials said in a press conference Aug. 8.
The man, an Austrian citizen with North Macedonian roots, had downloaded manuals for bomb building and authorities found knives, a machete, hydrogen peroxide, homemade explosives, detonators and detonator cables at his apartment, Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, director of Austria's domestic intelligence service, told reporters.
The suspect had been planning to attack the tens of thousands of Swift fans expected to gather outside the stadium in Vienna, Haijawi-Pirchner said at the press conference, per Reuters.
Haijawi-Pirchner added that the suspect had consumed radical Islamist propaganda, mainly from Islamic State and Al Qaeda. The official also told Austria’s public broadcaster ORF that the man had uploaded an oath of allegiance to the current leader of Islamic State to an internet account just a few weeks ago, NBC News reported.
In addition to the 19-year-old, police detained two other Austrians aged 17 and 15 in connection with the reported attack plot. Haijawi-Pirchner told reporters Islamic State and Al Qaeda material was found at the home of the older teen, who he said was employed for some days by a company that was to provide unspecified services at the venue for the Swift concerts, NBC News said.
"We have prevented a terrorist attack by a suicide bomber," Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said, via German translation, on X. It is a success that we have prevented any deaths."
Islamic State, also known as ISIS, had claimed responsibility for a 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in the U.K. city that killed 22 people, including children, and injured more than 200.
London's mayor said they were "looking forward to welcoming Taylor Swift back" to his city, where she had performed three concerts in June, when she was joined on and off stage by boyfriend Travis Kelce.
"We have a huge amount of experience in policing these events, we're never complacent," Khan said. "Many lessons were learnt after the awful Manchester Arena attack."
News of the foiled attack plot in Austria comes a week after a man, who recently turned 18, was arrested for allegedly killing three girls at a Swift-themed dance class in Southport. He faces three counts of murder plus 10 counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article over the fatal stabbing. The motive for the attack has not been released.
(E! and NBC News are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (732)
Related
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Hurricane Lee on path for New England and Canada with Category 1 storm expected to be large and dangerous
- Opponents of COVID restrictions took over a Michigan county. They want deep cuts to health funding
- Closing arguments set to begin in Texas AG Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial over corruption charges
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Mississippi should restore the voting rights of former felons, Democratic candidates say
- Death toll soars to 11,300 from flooding in Libyan coastal city of Derna
- Finland joins Baltic neighbors in banning Russian-registered cars from entering their territory
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- Charges in St. Louis more than doubled after embattled St. Louis prosecutor resigned
Ranking
- Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
- Horoscopes Today, September 14, 2023
- Louisiana, 9 other states ask federal judge to block changes in National Flood Insurance Program
- 'DWTS' fans decry Adrian Peterson casting due to NFL star's 2014 child abuse arrest
- Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
- You Have to CO2 Brie Larson in Lessons In Chemistry Trailer
- What it's like to try out for the U.S. Secret Service's elite Counter Assault Team
- Peta Murgatroyd Shares Why She Wanted to Return to DWTS 10 Weeks After Giving Birth
Recommendation
The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
Five restaurants in Colorado earn Michelin Guide stars, highest accolade in culinary world
AP Week in Pictures: North America
On movie screens in Toronto, home is a battleground
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
Hollywood writers aim to resume strike negotiations with film, TV studios after failed talks
College professor who questioned views toward adult-child sex wants back on campus
When is the next Powerball drawing? Jackpot rises to almost $600 million after no winners