Before Coldplay concert

Suspicious object: police operation in the Prater

A major police operation was carried out in the Vienna Prater on Wednesday evening. The main avenue was temporarily closed because a "suspicious object" had been found there.

At around 6.30 p.m., the police used a megaphone to instruct passers-by to "avoid the cordoned-off area" (see video above). "More and more police cars are coming", reported a reader reporter.

No bomb alert
The emergency services obviously played it safe. 40 minutes later, the all-clear was given to the "Krone": no bomb alert. The object was probably just a lost bicycle battery. The lockdown was lifted.

Security measures massively increased at Coldplay concert
Meanwhile, next door in the Ernst Happel Stadium, thousands of people gathered around the start of the Coldplay concert series. Almost two weeks after the suspected plans to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) also visited the venue on Wednesday evening to get an idea of the security situation.

At this location, "a tragedy may have been prevented a few days ago", said Karner and thanked the emergency services. The measures had been massively increased.