In August 2024, three concerts that were part of Taylor Swift’s Vienna leg of the Eras Tour were cancelled. The United States intelligence community shared information with its Austrian counterpart about a plan to carry out high-casualty terrorist attacks at these three events. In connection with this, three people were arrested. They were all teenagers at the time.
One of these suspects, the now 21-year-old referred to as Beran A, has been charged with terrorism, among other offenses. He has also been accused of being part of a terrorist organization, along with trying to procure weapons illegally from outside the country. Austrian public prosecutors brought the charges against Beran A.
Austrian prosecutors have charged a 21-year-old man with terrorism offences following an alleged plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna.
The suspect, an accused member of ISIS, reportedly researched shrapnel bomb designs specifically utilised by the militant group. pic.twitter.com/wg4pkUpy2v
— The Project (@theprojecttv) February 17, 2026
The tip-off sent through by the CIA caused the three events to be cancelled, which were expected to be attended by at least 195,000 attendants. All of these were sold-out gigs. According to the public prosecutors who have charged the man, the accused had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and had also shared jihadist propaganda on messaging services.
The accused allegedly learned how to make a shrapnel bomb online, one that was typically used by the Islamic State (IS).
When the shows were cancelled, Swift took to her social media. She wrote, “The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many had planned on coming to those shows.”
Taylor Swift fans sang her songs on the streets of Vienna
The famous singer’s concert in the Austrian capital was canceled due to the threat of a terrorist attack. pic.twitter.com/W2iIG9FVZO
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 9, 2024
White House Spokesperson John Kirby, back in 2024, had said, “The United States has an enduring focus on our counterterrorism mission. We work closely with partners all over the world to monitor and disrupt threats. And so as part of that work, the United States did share information with Austrian partners to enable the disruption of a threat to Taylor Swift’s concerts there in Vienna,”
The Austrian chancellor also issued a statement at the time, saying, “Thanks to the intensive cooperation of our police and [security agencies] with foreign services, the threat was recognized early, combated and a tragedy prevented.”
Another contributor to the plan, identified as Mohamed A, was convicted last year, as reported by The Guardian. He was 14 at the time of the foiled attack and was convicted at 16. He was given a suspended sentence of 18 months by a Berlin court.
The young perpetrator was described as being radicalized by ISIS propaganda online. Mohamed A. was responsible for putting Beran A in touch with IS members, as well as helping him procure information about the type of shrapnel bomb that IS uses.
