A court in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, on Thursday sentenced a 21-year-old Austrian man to 15 years in prison for planning an attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in August 2024.
The man, identified under Austrian privacy laws as Beran A., was convicted on terrorism-related charges connected to a planned attack during Swift’s Eras Tour concerts at Ernst Happel Stadium. Austrian authorities said the concerts, scheduled for August 8 to 10, 2024, were expected to attract nearly 200,000 fans.
Prosecutors told the court that Beran A. had become radicalized by the Islamic State group and had pledged allegiance to the organization. Investigators said he planned to detonate a shrapnel bomb outside the stadium and later attack people with knives and machetes.
Authorities said the plot was uncovered after a warning from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Police raided a property in Ternitz, south of Vienna, where they found bomb-making materials, Islamic State propaganda, counterfeit money, knives, and machetes.
The concerts were canceled shortly before the first performance was due to begin. The cancellation affected more than 150,000 ticket holders, many of whom had traveled from other countries.
During the trial, prosecutors said Beran A. had also been involved in plans linked to attacks in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Austrian investigators said evidence from his communications helped connect him to those cases.
A second defendant, identified as Arda K., a 21-year-old Slovak national, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on separate terrorism charges. Prosecutors said he was linked to Islamic State-related plots in the Middle East but was not directly involved in the planned Vienna concert attack.
Before the verdict was delivered, Beran A. told the court he was sorry. Court psychiatrist Peter Hoffmann testified that the defendant showed no signs of mental illness and said there was “no psychiatric explanation” for his radicalization.
Taylor Swift later commented publicly on the canceled concerts. In a statement posted on Instagram after the incident, she said the attack threat had given her “a new sense of fear.” She added: “I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives.”
The defendant has three days under Austrian law to file an appeal.
