A 21-year-old Austrian man, identified as Beran A., was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday, May 28, 2026, for planning an Islamist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in August 2024. The verdict was delivered by a court in Vienna, which found him guilty of terrorism-related offenses, including membership in a terrorist organization and plotting a bomb attack.
Beran A. had admitted to planning the attack, which targeted a Taylor Swift concert scheduled for August 8, 2024, at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna. The plot was foiled by Austrian authorities, who arrested him and other suspects in July 2024. The concert was canceled as a result of the threat.
The court also ordered Beran A. to be placed in a forensic psychiatric institution after his prison term, citing concerns about his radicalization and mental state. The sentence is one of the longest handed down in Austria for terrorism-related crimes in recent years.
Authorities stated that the plot involved plans to use explosives and knives to cause mass casualties. The investigation revealed that Beran A. had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and had been in contact with other extremists online.
