A man has gone on trial in Austria charged with plotting to attack one of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concerts in Vienna. The pop superstar's three performances in the Austrian capital were cancelled in August 2024 following news of the alleged plot.
Defendant Faces Serious Charges
The defendant, a 21-year-old Austrian citizen identified only as Beran A. in line with European privacy rules, faces charges including terrorist offences and membership in a terrorist organisation. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
Beran A. is standing trial alongside Arda K., whose full name also remains undisclosed. The pair, along with a third man, allegedly planned to carry out simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan in 2024 in the name of the Islamic State group. However, they never carried out any attacks.
Defence Attorney Indicates Guilty Plea
Beran A.'s defence attorney, Anna Mair, stated on Monday that her client plans to plead guilty to most of the charges, though she did not specify which ones. Only Beran A. is charged in connection with the Taylor Swift plot.
He allegedly planned to target onlookers gathered outside Ernst Happel Stadium — up to 30,000 each night, with another 65,000 inside the venue — using knives or homemade explosives. Authorities said in 2024 that the suspect hoped to “kill as many people as possible”. The United States provided intelligence that contributed to the decision to cancel the concerts.
Alleged Islamic State Links
Beran A. also allegedly networked with other members of the Islamic State group ahead of the planned attack. Prosecutors say they discussed purchasing weapons and making bombs, and that the defendant sought to illegally buy weapons in the days before the performance. Additionally, he swore allegiance to the militant group, according to prosecutors.
Authorities searched his apartment on 7 August 2024 and found bomb-making materials. The concerts were scheduled to begin the next day.
Swift's Reaction
“Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating,” Swift wrote in a statement posted to Instagram two weeks later. “The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows.”
The trial is being held in Wiener Neustadt, about an hour south of Vienna. The proceedings are set to continue on 12 May.
Related Charges Against Co-Defendant
Prosecutors have also filed terrorism-related charges against Arda K. in connection with the plan for simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The third man in that plot, Hasan E., allegedly stabbed a security guard with a knife at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on 11 March 2024. He was arrested and remains in pretrial detention in Saudi Arabia, Austrian prosecutors said.
Beran A. and Arda K. did not carry out their alleged plans in Turkey and the UAE. Beran A. returned to Vienna and then allegedly began plotting to attack a Swift concert there.
Comparisons to Manchester Attack
The Vienna plot drew comparisons to a 2017 attack by a suicide bomber at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester that killed 22 people. The bomb detonated at the end of Grande's concert as thousands of young fans were leaving, becoming the deadliest extremist attack in the United Kingdom in recent years.
