Vienna church plays Taylor Swift songs for devastated fans after foiled attack cancels concert

‘It was beautiful,’ one visitor said

A church in Vienna has offered Taylor Swift fans a safe space to gather and listen to her music after the singer’s Austria shows were cancelled.

The pop-star was forced to cancel her upcoming shows after Austrian law enforcement officers arrested two people suspected of planning a major attack at one of her sold-out performances.

Pastor Julia Schnizlein subsequently invited all ticket holders in the city to visit The Lutheran City Church for a special Swift gathering.

Placing a collage of images of Swift on a sign outside the church, Schnizlein told concertgoers on her Instagram story: “Dear Swifties, we feel for you. You can sing your heart out here.”

Writing on X/Twitter, one attendee, Kristi Hovington said of the Swift service: “Thank you lovely church in Vienna that played Taylor Swift songs the day of the first cancelled concert and gave lots of sad Swifties a place to gather. Thanks to the police for keeping us all safe!”

In the clip shared by Hovington to social media, pews of Swift fans can be seen sitting in the church singing along to the Grammy winner’s hit single “Style”.

Hovington said directly to Pastor Schnizlein: “Thank you so much for hosting it! It was a moving, wholesome experience for my whole family, particularly for our daughter who is heartbroken over missing the concert. We appreciate the community you provided.”

Another Swift fan added in response: “I’ve been teary eyed off and on since yesterday, but this made me bawl. I’m so happy that everyone is safe, and have a safe space to gather to celebrate!”

One of the teenagers suspected to be behind a foiled terror plot admitted he had planned to kill “as many people as possible”, officials said.

The main suspect, a 19-year-old boy, had uploaded an oath of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group militia online and is alleged to have been working with another teenager, who had begun working at the stadium days before.

Austria’s general director for public security Frankz Ruf told ORF radio on Thursday that chemical substances and technical devices, showing “concrete preparatory actions”, were found at the 19-year-old’s house in the town of Ternitz.

Both suspects had become radicalised on the internet and had specific plans to carry out an attack, officials said, and investigators are now determining if the substances found could have been used to make an explosive.

Taylor Swift’s performances, which were originally scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, and expected to draw 195,000 people, were cancelled. The move comes after officials initially said the concerts were set to move forward with heightened security.

“We have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” management company Barracuda Music said in a statement. “All tickets will be automatically refunded.”