With Swift management

Organizer: Cancellation agreed with Swift management

The cancellation of the concerts in Vienna was made "in coordination with the artist's management", explained organizer Ewald Tatar (left) on Thursday.

(Bild: APA/Roland Schlager)

The decision to cancel the three Taylor Swift concerts scheduled in Vienna following the arrest of the terror suspects was "the right one". Organizer Ewald Tatar explained this at a press conference at the Ministry of the Interior in Vienna on Thursday.

It was a "decision in the interests of safety for visitors" "not only in the stadium, but also outside". The measure was taken "in coordination with the artist's management", explained Tatar, the head of Barracuda Music, to the press (see video above).

Tatar referred to the dangerous situation: "We would probably have had 10,000, 15,000 visitors outside the stadium from 6 a.m. today. That would have built up to 60,000 to 65,000 people in the stadium throughout the day, plus another 20,000 to 30,000 expected onlookers. That's an enormous crowd."

The cancellation of the concerts in Vienna was made "in coordination with the artist's management", explained organizer Ewald Tatar (left) on Thursday.

(Bild: APA/Roland Schlager)

"Not an everyday decision, but the right one"
"In this respect, I have to say that despite everything, I am very satisfied with this decision. Although it is of course not an everyday decision, it is the right one," said Tatar. The decision was "supported by the management (of Taylor Swift, ed.)".

Measure taken in coordination with the artist's management

Konzertveranstalter Ewald Tatar

The organizer thanked Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) "for the information we received, especially the information from yesterday, which led to us having to make this decision". The decisive factor was not least the realization that one of the suspects was an employee in the stadium.

"That's a clear fact that you then have to think about something as an organizer. Then it was no longer about someone in Lower Austria, but effectively about an employee who was working in the stadium from early in the morning on that day. That's a completely different situation to deal with."

According to Tatar, the decision will not affect the Ed Sheeran concert at Green Park in St. Pölten next week or the Frequency Festival. However, there will be a larger police presence purely as a preventative measure.

No details of the damage caused
Tatar could not and would not yet put a figure on the damage. "That will become clear in the next few days, we first have to evaluate the situation." Giving specific figures "would be premature and dubious".

When asked what this means for future major events, Tatar said: "I don't want to paint the proverbial devil on the wall. We had an extraordinary situation, an artist in the city who is extraordinary, there was a reaction from all sides." He couldn't say any more than that.

Karner: "Full understanding" for cancellation
Interior Minister Karner assisted Tatar: "As the police and security authorities, we will do everything humanly possible in future to ensure that events like this can be held safely." Postscript: "We will not let these shabby, horrible assassins keep us down." Karner showed "full understanding" for the organizer's decision to cancel Swift yesterday.

However, there is still no reaction from Taylor Swift herself. "See You Soon Vienna" is the artist's last Instagram post to date, which was published two days ago.