Disheartening Moment: “Toronto Fan’s Trip to Vienna for Taylor Swift Concerts Disrupted by Terror Threat”

Toronto resident Ariella Kimmel felt like it was fate when she got tickets to one of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shows in Vienna.

On Wednesday evening, she was heartbroken at the news that all three of Swift’s shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna were cancelled following the arrests of two people who allegedly plotted to launch an attack in the area, including at the stadium.

Barracuda Music, the organizers of the Vienna concerts, announced in an Instagram post late Wednesday that all three of the shows in the Austrian capital were cancelled for “everyone’s safety.”

We have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” the post said, citing government officials’ “confirmation” of a planned attack at the stadium.

Kimmel, 37, said she was out having dinner when she started seeing posts on X about cancellations. An hour later, she received an email confirming the shows were called off.

Two suspected extremists were arrested by authorities, one of whom appeared to be planning an attack on an event in the Vienna area.

The 19-year-old main suspect, who reportedly had pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group, was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and the second person was arrested in Vienna.

Franz Ruf, public security director at Austria’s interior ministry, said authorities were aware of “preparatory actions” for a possible attack “and also that there is a focus by the 19-year-old perpetrator on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna,” the Austria Press Agency reported

The Austrian citizen is believed to have become radicalized on the internet. Ruf said that chemical substances were secured and were being evaluated. He did not provide further details.

Thursday’s concert would have been the fourth show for Kimmel and close friend Mandi Johnson, from Edmonton after they attended the Las Vegas and Nashville stops in the U.S. and the Stockholm show in Sweden this past spring. Kimmel and Johnson had scored floor tickets for Thursday’s show through a lottery system — one that was “very hard to get through.”

Despite being disappointed, Kimmel says she is “incredibly fortunate” to have had three other opportunities to see her idol.

“I just genuinely feel really sad for everyone who’s not going to get to go tomorrow to the concert here in Vienna. I hope this is the only time that this happens,” Kimmel said.

The Swiftie friends also made it a tradition to get matching tattoos during their trips, which they did Wednesday morning in Vienna before news

Kimmel says she will not let the threat to live music events break her from attending them as she “loves the crowds” and “being around people.”

“I fully understand that live events can become targeted by the worst of humanity, despite the fact that in reality, they represent the best of humanity,” Kimmel said. “I think the worst thing that we can do is let the bad win.”

The cancellations came hours after Austrian authorities said security measures for the Swift concerts would be stepped up.

Vienna police chief Gerhard Pürstl said that while the danger had been minimized, an abstract risk justified raising security.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a post on X that “the cancelation of the Taylor Swift concerts by the organizers is a bitter disappointment for all fans in Austria.”