A man accused of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group and plotting a major attack on Taylor Swift’s Vienna concert in August 2024 has pleaded guilty as his trial began, according to Austrian media reports.
The suspect, a 21-year-old Austrian citizen identified as Beran A. under privacy laws, admitted to most charges, including terrorist offenses and membership in a terrorist organisation.
He faces a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years.
The planned attack was never carried out, but Austrian authorities cancelled all three scheduled Taylor Swift Eras Tour concerts in Vienna as a precaution.
The decision followed intelligence shared by US authorities and concerns over a credible threat.
The cancellation affected tens of thousands of fans, many of whom had travelled internationally for the shows.
Prosecutors say Beran A. had sworn allegiance to ISIS and allegedly planned to target crowds outside Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium using knives or homemade explosives, aiming to cause mass casualties.
Investigators also found bomb-making materials during a raid on his apartment shortly before the concerts were due to begin. He is also accused of communicating with other ISIS-linked individuals and attempting to acquire weapons illegally.
Beran A. is being tried alongside another suspect, Arda K., who also faces terrorism-related charges. Prosecutors allege that the pair, along with a third individual, had planned coordinated attacks in Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan in 2024.
That broader plot included an unrelated stabbing incident in Mecca involving the third suspect, who was later arrested in Saudi Arabia.
Taylor Swift later described the cancellation as “devastating,” saying the threat caused her fear and guilt over disrupted plans for fans.
The trial is taking place in Wiener Neustadt, with proceedings scheduled to continue in May.
The Vienna case has drawn comparisons to the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing at an Ariana Grande concert, one of the deadliest extremist attacks in recent UK history. (PTI)
