On Wednesday evening, a quick succession of events shocked Taylor Swift concertgoers in Vienna and left the locals in the Austrian capital concerned. Police announced they had arrested a 19-year-old man for allegedly planning an Islamist attack that “focussed” on Taylor Swift’s concerts.

The concerts were to be held on Thursday August 8th, Friday August 9th and Sunday August 10th at the Ernst-Happel Stadium in Vienna.

But details of the alleged plot were left vague; there were reports of a second arrest of a person believed to have been in contact with the suspect and there were rumours of other suspects on the loose.

At a press conference, Vienna’s police chief Franz Ruf said there was no “immediate “threat” and that authorities would reinforce security around the event.

However, he did add that the terror threat was still considered “high”. That seemed enough to persuade the concert organisers to pull the plug on the three concerts.

A few hours later, the show’s producer in Austria, Barracuda Music, said: “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.”

The shows were expected to draw 65,000 concertgoers per day, with an additional 10,000 to 15,000 fans outside of the area, police said.

Who are the suspects?

Little is known about the suspects so far. Austrian media reported that the main suspect is a 19-year-old Austrian who probably became radicalised on the internet. He lived in the Lower Austrian town of Ternitz, a two-hour train ride to the Ernst-Happel-Stadium.

He also allegedly worked for a local manufacturing company but left the job about two weeks prior, sources at the company told The Local. The man “allegedly stole chemical products from the company. We had a police operation with an officer checking the history of the suspect and in which areas he worked”, the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

A second suspect, a 17-year-old, was arrested in Vienna, Franz Ruf, whose title is Director General for Public Security, confirmed early Thursday Morning on Ö1-Morgenjournal. 

However, Austrian newspaper Der Standard said police sources told them there were “other suspects who are being hunted.” The police have not officially confirmed this information.

Ruf said the investigation would “continue at full speed,” especially in the “immediate environment” of the two suspects. The police chief added that a statement with more information would be issued later on Thursday.

On Friday, Interior Ministry Gerhard Karner said that “an 18-year-old Iraqi close to the main suspect and who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group was arrested” in the Austrian capital on Thursday.

The police said they are looking into other people who possibly knew about the plans.

Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer said: “The situation surrounding the planned terrorist attack in Vienna was very serious.”

What do we know about the plot?

Little is known about the alleged plot at the time of publication.

The suspects were allegedly planning an attack using chemicals that officials are now checking whether or not could be used to make bombs. The police confirmed they found several dangerous chemicals, as well as fake money, machete and knives at the main suspect’s house.

They are said to have sworn allegiance to the terrorist group IS recently. US media ABC News said law enforcement and intelligence sources told them that the information about the threat to the tour dates originated with US intelligence and was passed to the Austrians and Europol”.

Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) confirmed that the “close networking with foreign security authorities was particularly decisive”.

Investigators in Austria are looking at surveillance footage to determine whether one or more of the suspects had previously visited the concert site for reconnaissance or if they had visited other potential targets, ABC News reported.

Austria’s intelligence agency on Thursday confirmed that the 19-year-old was planning a suicide attack designed to kill many people. 

“He said he intended to carry out an attack using explosives and knives,” domestic intelligence agency (DSN) head Omar Haijawi-Pirchner told a news conference. “His aim was to kill himself and a large number of people during the concert, either today or tomorrow”.

Why were the shows cancelled if the arrests were made?

Presumably, this is because the investigation is still ongoing, and the terror threat is still high.

At a press conference, Ruf said that the police had not explicitly recommended that the organiser cancel the concerts. When asked whether the police had at least advised them to cancel, he pointed out that it’s the police’s job to “ensure safety,” even though “100 percent safety can never be guaranteed.”

He also said that the authorities do “everything humanly possible” to ensure that such major events occur and that everything had been done so the Taylor Swift concerts could take place. 

Later on Thursday, the organisers said they received information from the police that one of the suspects had been working at the stadium. “Then it’s no longer about someone in Lower Austria, but effectively about an employee who was working in the stadium from the early hours that day. That’s a completely different situation to deal with”, they said, according to Austrian media.

Will the concerts be rescheduled? 

Fans are disappointed, with many going to social media to express that they do not want a refund but wish to see their idol live. However, there are no plans for the concerts in Vienna to be rescheduled —Taylor Swift also has other concerts scheduled starting August 15th in Wembley Stadium in the UK. 

The organisation said all tickets would be automatically refunded within ten working days. 

Barracuda also referred to further information on the Ö-Ticket website. 

The general help page of the ticket platform states that in the event of cancellations, “provided that repayment via oeticket is legally and financially possible and the organiser has decided to pay out the ticket money as a form of refund, the corresponding amount will be refunded excluding any fees (e.g., shipping costs, service fees).”

What will happen with other major events this month in Vienna?

The Swift concerts are cancelled, but Vienna is set to be the stage for other major events in the coming weeks. The British rock band Coldplay has four sold-out concerts scheduled for August 21st, 22nd, 24th and 25th. Those are all set to take place also in the Ernst-Happel-Stadion. 

There are no statements yet regarding whether or not they will take place. Barracuda Music, the producer that decided to cancel the Taylor Swift event, is not responsible for the Coldplay events. Also, police have spoken of no immediate threats focusing on Coldplay or any other event in Vienna.

However, since the police investigation is still ongoing, the situation can also change.