Man pleads guilty to planning attack on Taylor Swift concert in Vienna – National
A man accused of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group and plotting to attack one of Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna nearly two years ago pleaded guilty as his trial began Tuesday, his lawyer said.
The plot was foiled, but the Austrian authorities still canceled Swift’s three performances in August 2024. The singer’s fans, known as Swifties, who had flown to Austria from all over the world to attend her record-breaking Eras Tour were devastated, but they rallied to make Vienna a city-wide trading post for friendship rings.
The defendant, a 21-year-old Austrian citizen known only as Beran A. in lFine and Austrian privacy laws, faces charges including terrorism and membership of a terrorist organization. He faces up to 20 years in prison, and has been in custody since August 2024.
The Vienna plot drew comparisons to the 2017 bombing of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, which killed 22 people. The bomb was detonated at the end of Grande’s concert as thousands of young fans left, making it the deadliest attack in the United Kingdom in recent years.
Anna Mair, his lawyer, said his client pleaded guilty to charges related to the concert plot.
“Yes, he is very sorry for everything,” Mair said outside court, adding that “he says it was the biggest mistake of his life.”
Get the latest country news
Get the best Canadian news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you never miss a trending story.
Austrian media reported that he also pleaded guilty to being a member of a terrorist organization.
Beran A. is on trial along with Arda K., whose full name has not been released. They, along with a third man, are planning simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan in 2024 on behalf of the Islamic State group. Beran A. and Arda K. never made their attack.
Only Beran A. was charged with the structure of the concert. He pleaded not guilty to charges relating to the concurrent attack.
He was said to be planning to target the crowd outside the Ernst Happel Stadium – up to 30,000 each night, with another 65,000 inside the venue – with knives or improvised explosive devices. The suspect hoped to “kill as many people as possible,” authorities said in 2024. The US provided the intelligence that went into the decision to cancel the concerts.
Beran A. is suspected of being in contact with other members of the Islamic State group before the planned attack. Prosecutors said they discussed buying weapons and making bombs, and that the defendant also wanted to buy weapons illegally in the days before the game began. In addition, he pledged allegiance to the militant group.
Authorities searched his house on Aug. 7, 2024, found materials to make bombs. The concerts were supposed to start the next day.
“The cancellation of our Vienna shows was devastating,” Swift wrote in a statement posted on Instagram two weeks later. “The reason for the cancellation filled me with a new sense of dread, and a huge amount of guilt because so many people had planned to come to those shows.”
The case is tied to Wiener Neustadt, about an hour south of Vienna. The trial will continue on May 12.
Three attacks are planned in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE
Prosecutors also filed terrorism-related charges against Arda K. in a case related to a planned simultaneous attack in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
The third man in the plot, Hasan E., allegedly stabbed a security guard at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on March 11, 2024. He was arrested and remains in pre-trial detention in Saudi Arabia, Austrian prosecutors said.
Beran A. and Arda K. did not make their plans in Turkey and UAE. Beran A. returned to Vienna and began plotting to attack Swift’s concert there.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
