London Mayor Sadiq Khan says the UK’s capital will “carry on” with hosting Taylor Swift concerts at Wembley this month following the prevention of an allegedly planned terrorist attack at the venue of the US singer’s dates in Austria.
On Wednesday, all three of the US singer’s performances at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium were cancelled and two suspected extremists were arrested by local police.
She had been due at the Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Earlier, policing minister Diana Johnson said Scotland Yard will look at “all the intelligence” ahead of Swift’s five dates at London’s Wembley Stadium between Thursday August 15 and Tuesday August 20.
Mr Khan told Sky News on Thursday that London is “looking forward to welcoming Taylor Swift back” as the capital is “an international city” that regularly hosts major events.
He added: “We have a huge amount of experience in policing these events, we’re never complacent, many lessons were learned after the awful Manchester Arena attack.
“The police work closely, not just with City Hall, but with councils, but also with those who host concerts, like the Taylor Swift concert coming up over the next couple of weeks.”
He added: “I’m sure Vienna has got its own reasons to cancel the Taylor Swift concerts, we’re going to carry on, working closely with police (and) ensuring that the Taylor Swift concerts can take place in London safely.”
On Instagram on Wednesday, event organiser Barracuda Music wrote that “we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety” as there had been “confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium”.
At a press conference on Thursday, Austria’s interior minister, Gerhard Karner, said “a tragedy was prevented” before referring to the attack on Paris’s Bataclan venue, the bombing of Manchester Arena during an Ariana Grande concert, and the Crocus City Hall mass shooting in Moscow.
He also said that concerts “are often targets” for politically motivated attackers, and threats have “undoubtedly risen” since the escalation of violence against Hamas and Israel in Gaza in October.
Franz Ruf, director general for public security at the Ministry of the Interior confirmed that two people had been arrested, one 19-year-old suspect in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and a 17-year-old in the Austrian capital.
He also said that chemical substances, liquids and technical capabilities were found at the home of the 19-year-old.
The 17-year-old, who was believed to have been employed by a facility management company working at the venue, was arrested outside the Ernst Happel Stadium.
The 19-year-old allegedly pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group, and director Omar Haijawi-Pirchner of Intelligence Services said the 17-year-old was found with IS and Al-Qaeda material with him.
He also said: “Our investigations show that there are individuals in the vicinity of the three suspects who may have been supportive; further investigations are necessary here.”
A 15-year-old was also detained and questioned by the police.
Mr Ruf said police are not searching for more suspects.
Austrian authorities said they believe the 19-year-old was set to target fans with bladed weapons as well as the construction of a bomb, and he confessed to planning to kill himself and concertgoers on Thursday or Friday.
Earlier, Ms Johnson told LBC: “The UK police will be looking at all the intelligence and making decisions, they risk assess every event that happens in this country, and that’s something for the police.
“Can I also just say there is, of course, a commitment in our manifesto in the General Election to introduce Martyn’s law which, again, is about making sure that those … venues which could be subject to terrorist attack have in place everything that they need in terms of keeping people safe, and that will be brought forward by the government shortly.”
Martyn’s Law is named after 2017 Manchester Arena bombing victim Martyn Hett, and is designed to help protect venues against terror attacks. It was part of the new Labour Government’s first King’s Speech. The speech to Parliament sets out the programme for legislation for the Government.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “London plays host to a significant number of very high-profile events each year with millions of visitors having a safe and enjoyable experience.
“The Met works closely with venue security teams and other partners to ensure there are appropriate security and policing plans in place.
“There is nothing to indicate that the matters being investigated by the Austrian authorities will have an impact on upcoming events here in London.
“As always, we will continue to keep any new information under careful review.”
Barracuda Music said that “all tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days”.
In July, there was a fatal knife attack on three girls, aged six, seven and nine, at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport, which sparked riots throughout the UK.
Swift said she was in “completely in shock” following the deaths at the children’s event.
A suspect has been charged and has appeared in court.
Swift had thanked Poland’s Warsaw audiences for giving her “the best time”, and said she could not “believe we have two cities left on the European leg of The Eras Tour”, before the cancellations in Austria.
The 34-year-old singer added: “It’s truly flown by. See you soon Vienna.”
Her representative, the Home Office and Wembley Stadium have all been contacted for further comment.
