In August 2024, a terrorism plot by followers of the Islamic State, a jihadist militant group, targeting a concert of the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna was uncovered and neutralised. Three males, aged 17, 18 and 19, were arrested in Austria for involvement in the plot that was intended to mass murder concert attendees as well as onlookers in the stadium vicinity; a juvenile male in Germany was charged in 2025 for aiding those in Austria.

Three concerts of the Eras Tour, Swift's sixth concert tour, were scheduled to take place from 8–10 August 2024 at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion—the penultimate stop of the tour's European leg, in what would have been Swift's first-ever concerts in Austria. The tickets went on sale in July 2023 and all three dates sold out within the first few hours, marking the fastest and largest ticket-sale in Austrian history; over 200,000 people had been expected to attend the shows in the stadium premises. The police detained a suspect of terrorism a day before the first show, stating that the concerts could proceed as planned with additional security measures in place. However, following the arrest of a second suspect and a confirmation by the Government of Austria of the extensive terrorist plan to attack the tour and Vienna at-large, Swift's event partner Barracuda Music cancelled the concerts indefinitely—a decision welcomed by Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer.

Authorities stated that the suspects, who were all teenagers, had been radicalised online and were found to be in possession of explosive chemicals, bladed articles, al-Qaeda-related devices, counterfeit money, and a car equipped with a police siren for organising a suicide attack on the concert. The Austrian Federal Police, EKO Cobra, the United States Intelligence Community, and Europol collaborated to prevent the attack. Nehammer proposed empowering Austrian law enforcement agencies with the power to decrypt private digital communications within judicial purview to combat organised crime. The Eras Tour's final European shows took place in London's Wembley Stadium with additional security and administrative support from the Greater London Authority and Metropolitan Police, which in turn gave rise to a political controversy in the UK.

Vienna is the capital, and the most populous city of Austria. It is also the fifth-largest city by population in the European Union. Vienna saw its first terror attack on 2 November 2020.

The American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift embarked on her sixth concert tour, the Eras Tour, which commenced on 17 March 2023, in Glendale, Arizona, United States, and concluded on 8 December 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with over 100 shows across five continents. The Eras Tour quickly became the world's highest-grossing tour of all time within its first 60 shows, becoming the first tour ever to surpass $1 billion in revenue. The tour has had a documented cultural and economic impact worldwide, which has been the subject of widespread media coverage and analysis.

Swift announced the European leg of the tour on 20 June 2023, including one concert at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, in what would have been Swift's first-ever show in the country. Following popular demand, eight more shows were added to the leg, which saw Vienna receive a second show. Further demand expanded the European leg once again, with 14 additional shows in continental Europe, including a third consecutive show in Vienna.

All 170,000 tickets for the three Vienna shows sold out within the first few hours of sale, marking the largest and fastest ticket sale ever in the history of Austria. Vienna experienced a significant impact on its rental market, with booking rates for the nights of the concerts recorded in February 2024, 44 percent higher than at the same point the previous year. By the end of March 2024, the number of nights booked in the city for the length of the tour's stay in the second week of August had risen by 430 percent compared with the same period in 2023.

On 7 August 2024, media reported that the Austrian federal police took a 19-year-old male, a dual citizen of Austria and North Macedonia with Albanian descent into custody for allegedly plotting a terror attack on Swift's concerts in Vienna. His name has been identified as Beran A. (Aliji, Aliyi), according to The Guardian, even though no names were officially released in line with Austrian privacy rules. He was previously known to the authorities as a suspect of terrorism and was arrested following a large police operation in Ternitz, Lower Austria, where his house is located, with over 100 nearby residents evacuated temporarily. The operation crew had told the civilians that there was a gas leak. Austrian public security director-general Franz Ruf stated that a bomb squad found chemical substances and technical devices at the residence, which were sent for forensic examination. However, Ruf assured that the shows would take place as scheduled, with additional security measures in place to deter remaining threats, as over 65,000 fans are expected to attend each day and 20,000 more outside the venue. The suspect's parents, originated from Gostivar, had been away at the time of the raid.