Current:Home > InvestPolice Weigh in on Taylor Swift's London Concerts After Alleged Terror Attack Plot Foiled in Vienna -Profound Wealth Insights
Police Weigh in on Taylor Swift's London Concerts After Alleged Terror Attack Plot Foiled in Vienna
Benjamin Ashford View
Date:2025-04-11 05:10:42
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! (1)
Related
- Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
- A Missouri fire official dies when the boat he was in capsizes during a water rescue
- United Airlines flight loses wheel after takeoff from Los Angeles and lands safely in Denver
- Amtrak service restored between New York City and Boston after power outage
- Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
- Sen. Lindsey Graham says if Biden steps aside, this is a dramatically different race for Trump
- MLB All-Star Game snubs: 10 players who deserve a spot in Midsummer Classic
- North Carolina governor signs 12 bills still left on his desk, vetoes 1 more
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- More than 3 million pass through US airport security in a day for the first time as travel surges
Ranking
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- Cherokees in North Carolina begin sales of recreational marijuana to adult members
- Entertainment giant Paramount agrees to a merger with Skydance
- A Kenyan court says 2022 shooting death of a Pakistani journalist by police in Nairobi was unlawful
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Glee's Heather Morris Details How Naya Rivera's Death Still Hurts 4 Years Later
- 2 people attacked by sharks in 2 days at 'Shark Bite Capital of the World,' Florida
- What is the best retirement age for Social Security? Here's what statistics say
Recommendation
New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
Chip Reid on addressing the long-term mental health of U.S. service members
Bachelor Nation's Chase McNary Marries Ellie White in Mountaintop Wedding
Moulin Rouge's iconic windmill sails restored after collapse just in time for the Olympics
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
Minnie Driver Says Marrying Ex-Fiancé Josh Brolin Would’ve Been the “Biggest Mistake” of Her Life
All Ringo Starr wants for his 84th birthday is 'peace and love' — and a trippy two-tiered cake
Bachelor Nation's Chase McNary Marries Ellie White in Mountaintop Wedding