Taylor Swift was set to perform a series of shows in Vienna, Austria, late this week and into the weekend. But authorities canceled the shows after learning of an alleged ISIS plot to attack the music venues when crowds gathered at this stop on the much-hyped Eras Tour.
The head of Austria’s intelligence and security agency said one of the two suspects planned to carry out an attack with explosives. After getting news that all three Taylor Swift shows this weekend are canceled, fans gathered to console each other.
“Obviously, this is amazing. This is really heartwarming and lovely. So, we’re trying to look at the bright side,” Jamie O’Connor, who is from the UK, told Reuters, adding that she’s happy everybody is safe.
The World’s Host Marco Werman spoke with Colin P. Clarke, the director of research at the Soufan Group, who joined from Pittsburgh, to learn the details of the alleged plot.
Marco Werman: Talk a little about music shows as targets of terror attacks.
Colin P. Clarke: It’s another troubling plot. This is actually the third plot that’s been disrupted in Vienna alone. Just in the last year or so, there was a plot that was supposed to target the Vienna Pride parade that was disrupted. And then there was a plot on New Year’s Eve where a bunch of individuals linked to ISIS had planned to target the Vienna Cathedral. And so, a big uptick in plots across Europe. Many have been focused on the Paris Olympics. But there are other plots that have been disrupted, many of them involving teenagers.
Yeah, the authorities say the two teenage suspects had links to ISIS. What do you make of that?
Well, what we’re seeing now is individuals, part of different diaspora communities living in the West, especially in Europe. ISIS is really expert in tapping into these through various forms of propaganda. That has a radicalizing effect on individuals. They then reach out to them. We call these individuals “virtual plotters” or “virtual planners;” some call them entrepreneurs. They reach out to radicalized individuals in the West and then attempt to direct a plot. And it seems like this particular plot was fairly well-advanced and quite serious, given some of the allegations that chemicals were involved.
ISIS has been around for years. What is your sense of the group’s current capabilities to carry out an attack like the one described in this alleged plot in Vienna?
Well, one need only to look at what’s happened in 2024 already. ISIS-K (ISIS – Khorasan Province) has been linked to multiple transnational plots. Early in the year in Kerman, Iran, there was a double suicide bombing at a memorial for former Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani that killed over 100 people. You had another incident in Istanbul, an attack on a Roman Catholic Church linked to the ISIS-K. And then, obviously, the Moscow attack in March, which was a big one. So, you see the capabilities, you see the intent. And I think this is a group that’s going to continue trying until they’re able to sneak one through. ISIS-K is now operating in Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Central Asia. But this is a group that is now probably the most operationally capable, the most dangerous out of all the ISIS affiliates, franchise groups and branches globally.
When it comes to concerts, we’ve seen attacks in the past carried out in the UK, France, Russia — you mentioned the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow just this year — all aimed at concert venues. I mean, you’re the father of a “Swiftie,” I gather. So, I’m guessing this is something you’re attuned to. Remind us why concerts seem to be common targets in these sorts of plots.
Yeah, you’re right. I’m the father of two Swifties. This was probably the closest that my work life, at home life ever came to overlapping. So, a bit disconcerting in that respect. But these are soft targets traditionally, right? And so, when we think of military bases, government installations, various institutions, those are kind of what we would consider hard targets, right? Those are places that law enforcement and intelligence agencies kind of expect to be attacked. And they’re guarded appropriately, they’re resourced appropriately. That’s not the same for concerts, for carnivals, for all of these kind of things that we do for entertainment and enjoyment. Now, of course, they have security, but unless there’s a direct and specific plot, the concert is kind of left to figure this out on their own.
How are security procedures at public events, like concerts, changing to prevent terrorist attacks?
Well, I think the first is preventative. And I see some people criticizing Taylor Swift or the concert venue for canceling the concert. My reading of this plot was it was mature enough that that was absolutely the right call. Go back to the Manchester Arena bombing with Ariana Grande back in 2017. You could have easily had some kind of an incident similar to that, if not worse. So, canceling it was absolutely the right thing. It depends on the concert venue and the country that we’re talking about. I went to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert a couple of years ago in Barcelona, and I can tell you it was very clear that Spanish police, Spanish special forces even, based on the weapons I was seeing, were out in force to serve as a deterrent. And so, I think there’s the deterrent aspect. And then there’s the part of securing the venue itself, which, even for the most capable services in the world, there’s going to be things that fall through the cracks. There’s going to be, kind of, miscommunication, and that’s what we have to focus on shoring up.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
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