WIENER NEUSTADT, Austria — A 21-year-old Austrian man pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from a jihadist plot to massacre concertgoers at Taylor Swift’s sold-out performances in Vienna, as his long-awaited trial opened in a court south of the Austrian capital.
The defendant, identified only as Beran A. under Austrian privacy laws, admitted to plotting to attack fans gathered outside Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium during Swift’s Eras Tour in August 2024 — a scheme that, while thwarted by authorities, forced the cancellation of three concerts and sent shockwaves through the global entertainment industry.
“I plead guilty in part,” Beran A. told the presiding judge at the start of his questioning. Asked specifically whether he was pleading guilty to charges linked to the planned concert attack, he replied: “Yes.”
His defense attorney, Anna Mair, said her client was remorseful. “Of course, he deeply regrets it all,” Mair told reporters outside the courtroom. “It is also due to the long period of detention that he says it was the biggest mistake of his life.” Beran A. has been held in custody since his arrest in August 2024.
Prosecutors allege that Beran A. planned to target the tens of thousands of fans massing outside the stadium — up to 30,000 each night, with a further 65,000 inside the venue — using knives or homemade explosives, with the stated aim of killing “as many people as possible.” Authorities searched his apartment on Aug. 7, 2024, and found bomb-making materials. Swift’s concerts were scheduled to begin the following day.
According to prosecutors, Beran A. used Islamic State video instructions to produce a small quantity of the explosive triacetone triperoxide and attempted to illegally purchase weapons, including a machine gun and a hand grenade, in the days leading up to the planned attack. He also allegedly swore allegiance to the militant group and networked with other IS members in the lead-up to the plot.
U.S. intelligence played a role in the decision to cancel the concerts, Austrian authorities have said.
Swift, whose Eras Tour became one of the highest-grossing concert tours in history, addressed the cancellations in a statement posted to Instagram two weeks after the events. “Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating,” she wrote. “The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows.”
Beran A. faces charges including terrorist offenses and membership in a terrorist organization, and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
He is being tried alongside a Slovak national identified as Arda K., who faces separate terrorism-related charges. The two men, along with a third co-conspirator identified as Hasan E., allegedly planned simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan in 2024. Beran A. and Arda K. did not carry out their respective attacks, but Hasan E. is alleged to have stabbed a security guard at the Grand Mosque in Mecca on March 11, 2024. He was arrested and remains in pretrial detention in Saudi Arabia.
Only Beran A. was charged in connection with the Taylor Swift plot.
The Vienna case drew immediate comparisons to the 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, which killed 22 people as thousands of young fans were leaving the venue — the deadliest extremist attack in the United Kingdom in recent years.
Last year, a Berlin court convicted a Syrian teenager of contributing to the Vienna plot, handing the 16-year-old an 18-month suspended sentence.
The trial is being held in Wiener Neustadt, approximately an hour south of Vienna. Tuesday marked the first of four scheduled hearing days, with proceedings set to continue on May 12. It remains unclear whether additional sessions will be required.
