A planned Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in August 2024 had to be canceled due to suspected terrorism.Image: Keystone
Feb 16, 2026, 4:42 p.mFeb 16, 2026, 4:42 p.m
A suspected IS sympathizer has been charged a year and a half after the terror-related cancellation of Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna.
The Vienna public prosecutor’s office said that the now 21-year-old Austrian had prepared an assassination attempt for the first of the three appearances at the beginning of August 2024.
The charges, which are not yet legally binding, include suspected terrorist offenses, participation in a criminal organization and other crimes. If convicted, the suspect faces up to 20 years in prison. The young man was arrested shortly before the concerts, which were expected to attract a total of more than 200,000 spectators, and then taken into custody. According to the public prosecutor’s office, he had obtained instructions online for building a shrapnel bomb typical of the terrorist organization Islamic State. He had already made a small amount of explosives for this purpose.
He also tried several times to obtain firearms and a hand grenade through illegal dealers. It was also said that the man was involved in plans for other attacks. (sda/dpa)
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