'Islamist jihadist' set to plead guilty to terror plot against Taylor Swift concert in Austria

An Islamic State supporter is set to plead guilty of planning a terrorist attack against a Taylor Swift concert in Austria in a major trial starting today.

Beran Aliji, 21, has been charged with terrorism and other offences in relation to his August 2024 arrest which resulted in the cancellation of three of the pop superstar's concerts.

He was arrested after a tip-off from the CIA and is set to appear in court in Wiener Neustadt, just south of the capital.

Vienna prosecutors charged Aliji with being a member of a terrorist organisation and preparing and planning the attack on the concert.

He is also accused of being a member of terrorist group Islamic State (Isis) and spreading online propaganda for the group.

Anan Mair, a lawyer for the accused terrorist plotter, said her client would plead guilty to the charges.

The 21-year-old is alleged to have obtained instructions on how to make a shrapnel bomb "specific to IS attacks", the statement said - with further reports revealing this would come in a Red Bull can.

Other members of the terrorist organisation trained the 21-year-old - 19 at the time - how to handle explosives, prosecutors said.

They also alleged that he attempted to purchase various firearms and a hand grenade through the black market.

Another 21-year-old, named only as Arda K, is also on trial in Wiener Neustadt, accused of being part of an Islamic State cell with Aliji.

They both face up to 20 years behind bars if found guilty.

Last year, a teenager in Germany named as Mohammed A was given an 18-month suspended sentence for translating bomb-making instructions and putting him in contact with an Isis member.

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More than 195,000 people were expected to attend the concerts, which resulted in thousands of disappointed Taylor Swift fans roaming loose on the streets of Vienna.

They exchanged friendship bracelets and sang songs from the Love Story singer's discography in an open-air gathering to mourn the disappointment of the cancelled gigs.

In 2019, Taylor Swift said an attack at one of her concerts was "her biggest fear".

In her December 2025 documentary series The End of an Era, the singer addressed the concerts and said the cancellation "dodged a massacre situation".

She added: "I thought that this would be a tour I was very proud of. But this is more than a tour.

"It's a force to be reckoned with in global culture. So never in my life did I think we would have a terrorist plot."

And in a 2024 social media post, she said: "Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating. But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives."

Her Eras tour ended in December 2024, selling more than 10.1 million tickets and became the first tour in history to surpass $1billion in ticket sales.