‘It’s devastating’: Ottawa mom and daughter’s dream trip to see Taylor Swift ruined by terror plot

August 8, 2024 Canuck

An Ottawa mom and daughter are devastated after superstar Taylor Swift was forced to cancel her shows in Austria because of a foiled terrorist plot, spoiling what was supposed to be a dream trip.

“We were making one last friendship bracelet before falling asleep and the news broke and we just cried for hours. It’s devastating,” said Nathalie Carrier.

The duo flew from Ottawa to Vienna on Monday, where Taylor Swift was set to perform three sold-out shows.

But Swift was forced to cancel her concerts after a terrorist plot came to light, aimed at causing carnage at the concerts.

Austrian authorities announced several arrests, including a 19-year-old who made an oath to the leader of the Islamic State terrorist group last month and had explosive materials.

Security officials say the suspects had made arrangements to gain access to the stadium and surrounding area.

The concert organizer, Barracuda Music, said on Instagram, “We have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety. All tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days.”

Stella Whitehouse and her mom say they’re shaking it off the best they can as thousands of Swifties gather in the streets of Vienna, singing and swapping friendship bracelets.

“Last night, what we got from the organizers was, ‘don’t gather, don’t wear merch on the street, be careful.’ But as of this morning, that’s subsided a little bit,” said Carrier.

Security experts say it’s not the first mass public event to be targeted. In 2017, an attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, U.K. left 22 people dead.

“I don’t think law enforcement or national security officials had any choice but to cancel the concerts,” said former CSIS counter-terrorism analyst John Gilmour. “You have people visiting from a number of countries, so it wouldn’t have just been locals that were impacted by this or potentially killed or injured, had it been successful.”

Stella and her mom say they’re just grateful no one got hurt and are rallying around other fans, hoping to get tickets to Swift’s next show in London.

“The importance of Taylor Swift is to bring people together and that’s exactly what we’re doing and I’m sure she’ll be very happy that we’re together,” said Whitehouse.

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