 "Explained: The cancellation of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shows and the history of concert terrorism")
Taylor Swift’s concerts in Austria have been cancelled due to alleged terror plots. The popular American singer’s shows in Vienna were part of her blockbuster Eras Tour.
The decision by the organisers of the concert came after Austrian officials arrested two men who allegedly plotted a terrorist attack in the capital city, with one of them planning to target the stadium where Swift’s shows were supposed to take place.
Barracuda Music, an Austrian concert promoter, took to Instagram to announce the cancellation of the three shows. “With confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” it said in the post.
The shows were to start on Thursday (August 8) and continue until Saturday, with about 200,000 concertgoers expected to attend.
What do we know about the alleged terror threat at Taylor Swift’s Vienna concerts? What is the history of concert terrorism? We explain.
Terror threat at Taylor Swift’s concerts
The Austrian police arrested the two suspects on Wednesday, with one of them identified as a 19-year-old Austrian citizen who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State online, as per a New York Times (NYT) report.
According to Franz Ruf, an Austrian public security official, the Eras Tour was a potential target. A raid was carried out at the man’s home in Ternitz, Lower Austria, and “chemical substances” were recovered, reported NYT.
The other suspect was arrested in Vienna.
“Both suspects had become radicalised on the internet and had taken concrete preparatory actions for a terrorist attack,” the Austrian interior department said in a press release.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“From the current standpoint of the investigation we assume that the target of the attack were events in the Vienna region,” police said, as per CNN.
The cancelled concerts have left Swift’s fans heartbroken, especially those who flew to Vienna for the shows.
One of the fans told CNN she was “feeling mixed emotions, everything from tears to being angry,” adding that she was “mad and grateful that the two people were caught.”
The Austrian concert promoter has said that all tickets would be refunded.
Western counterterrorism officials point fingers at Islamic State’s Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, over the alleged terror plots.
Speaking to NYT, Colin P Clarke, a counterterrorism analyst at the Soufan Group, a security consulting firm based in New York, said, “The Taylor Swift concert plot fits ISIS-K’s modus operandi perfectly. A high-profile soft target which, if successfully attacked, would result in massive civilian casualties while generating worldwide publicity.”
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Terror attacks on concerts
It is not a new trend for terrorists to target concerts, where they can cause maximum harm.
About 33 cases of attempted or executed terror attacks on concerts have been recorded between 1996 and 2020 globally. As many as 263 people are believed to have lost their lives in these incidents, as per The Conversation report.
Terrorists resorted to bombings and explosions in about 70 per cent of these cases, while the use of firearms was reported in nearly 24 per cent of the tragedies. Explosive devices like hand grenades were deployed in at least eight cases.
According to The Washington Post opinion piece, “The killers who carry out such acts of terrorism [on entertainment venues] aren’t simply launching assaults on Western culture. They’re attempting to destroy the particular freedom that comes from surrendering to art, exploiting the very vulnerability that accompanies that surrender.”
When concerts were targeted
The latest incident happened in March when four terrorists linked to the ISIS-K , a branch of the Islamic State, opened fire at the auditorium in Crocus City Hall in Moscow. The attack came as the hall was about to host a concert by the rock group Picnic when the four khaki-clad men armed with automatic weapons started shooting randomly.
As many as 145 lives were lost and more than 551 were injured. It was Russia’s deadliest attack in years, which was reported days after President Vladimir Putin started his fifth term in office.
Last October, gunmen killed 260 people and took hostages at the Nature Party festival near Kibbutz Re’im as Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel that sparked the Gaza war.
In October 2017, a gunman named Stephen Paddock shot dead dozens of people at an outdoor music festival in Las Vegas. The man, who was in a hotel room, fired on attendees of the Route 91 Harvest music festival, killing 60 and injuring over 850.
The man was furious that perks on casinos were reduced for VIP gamblers like himself, NYT cited the FBI’s account.
American singer Ariana Grande’s concert at Manchester Arena in the United Kingdom in May 2017 became a target of a suicide bomber affiliated with IS. The terrorist detonated an explosive as she performed her last song, killing 22 people and injuring over 500.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the tragedy, which was the deadliest terror attack in Britain since the 2005 London metro bombings.
In November 2015, Paris reeled from a series of attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers. A concert hall, a major stadium, restaurants and bars, were targeted simultaneously on the night of Friday 13.
As many as 90 people died as three attackers wearing suicide belts targeted the Bataclan theatre where Californian rock group Eagles of Death Metal was performing.
The coordinated attacks across Paris had killed a total of 130 people.
With inputs from agencies
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