A 21-year-old Austrian man was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday for plotting an attack on a Taylor Swift concert at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium in August 2024.
He was also convicted of multiple other terrorism-related charges. The arrest followed a tip-off from the CIA before the first of three sold-out concerts, which were immediately cancelled, disappointing nearly 200,000 fans, and Swift herself.
Prosecutors allege Beran A was radicalised, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, and attempted but failed, to buy weapons illegally, including a machine gun and a grenade.
Court psychiatrist Peter Hoffmann stated Beran A showed no signs of mental illness and found no psychiatric basis for his radicalisation.
The 21-year-old was taken to court along with another man, Arda K, from Slovakia, who is a part of the terrorist group Islamic State (IS).
However, no evidence could be presented in court to prove his involvement in the attack plot in Vienna. Arda has been sentenced to 12 years of prison.
In August 2024, the Vienna concerts, a part of the Eras Tour, were cancelled following intelligence input on alleged plotting for a terror attack at the venue, the show organisers said in a statement.
“Taylor Swift The Eras Tour Vienna Shows Cancelled Due to Government Officials Confirmation of Planned Terrorist Attack. 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,” wrote organisers Barracuda Music on Instagram. Nearly 65,000 spectators were expected to attend the Day 1 show of the Vienna concert.
In her Disney+ docuseries, The End of an Era, Taylor Swift breaks down in tears while discussing the thwarted 2024 terrorist plot in Austria.
She reveals that she learned about the bomb plot while on a flight to the country and states that they narrowly ‘dodged a massacre situation’ and thanked the organisers for taking timely action to ensure her fans’ safety.