Security measures for the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden’s third city, are being tightened. Major demonstrations are planned to coincide with the event and the country is already on high alert.
Police and organizers say they are well prepared and hope for a “joyful” event.
The annual feel-good celebration of pop and showbiz is this year shrouded in complaints from some quarters about Israel’s participation in the war in Gaza. Sweden was already facing greater security challenges and Malmö is expecting one of the country’s largest ever police efforts.
As many as 100,000 visitors will descend on this city on Sweden’s south-west coast for the world’s largest live music competition.
Colorful Eurovision banners adorn many of the city’s streets, and it is the third time Malmö has played host, after Swedish artist Loreen won the competition in Liverpool last year with her hit Tattoo.
A program of festivities starts on Saturday, with the semi-finals on Tuesday and Thursday, culminating in the grand final on May 11. An estimated 200 million viewers worldwide are expected to tune in to the four-hour spectacle.
Armed forces have been called in from all over Sweden, with reinforcements from neighboring Denmark and Norway. Swedish police are generally armed, but some officers carry larger weapons as a precaution.
Malmö police chief Petra Stenkula said the entire country was already “at a terror level of four out of five.”
“I think it’s clear that the uncertainty in the world has also affected the Eurovision Song Contest,” she told the BBC. “In Sweden, and especially in Malmö, there have been protests against Israel’s participation in the competition.”
The police chief said there were no specific threats to the event, but the alert level was raised last August after a wave of Quran burnings that angered the Muslim world.
An internal police report, highlighted by Swedish public broadcaster SVT, describes Sweden as a “priority target” for violent jihadist groups. The 23-page threat assessment for the Eurovision Song Contest also listed unrest, cyber attacks and broadcast disruption as other potential risks.
“In Sweden the police are used to working with very complex issues, and we think we have good planning,” says Petra Stenkula.
Cameras have also been set up and drones are used for surveillance. Guests will also be required to pass through airport-style security checkpoints, including scanners and searches, when entering the venues. No bags are allowed.
“It is of great importance for the city of Malmö. So it is of course important that everything goes smoothly,” says Per-Erik Ebbestahl, Malmö’s safety director. “We feel very well prepared.”
Authorities have been planning for months and are also working with their counterparts in Liverpool, where last year’s competition took place. “It helped us a lot,” he told the BBC.
Malmö hosted the Pope two years ago and also hosted a Holocaust Remembrance conference. But the city’s security director says what’s new is the general threat towards Sweden and large gatherings.
“It’s not necessarily aimed at the Eurovision Song Contest,” he said, noting that similar security was already in place for the recent ice hockey playoffs, and was also planned for this month’s Taylor Swift concerts in Stockholm.
When the BBC visited the Malmö Arena on Thursday, fencing had been erected and additional cameras were being installed. Inside, rehearsals were already underway for a show with 37 acts.
“There are some really exciting shows coming up,” said Ebba Adielsson, SVT’s Eurovision executive producer.
“We know the debate outside, we know about the demonstrations and we are well prepared. We hear it and respect it,” she said. “But I sincerely hope it doesn’t overshadow it so much.
Israeli contestant Eden Golan, 20, and her song Hurricane will undoubtedly be in the spotlight.
Originally titled October Rain, the song had alluded to the Hamas attacks on southern Israel last October 7. Israel’s public broadcaster agreed to change the lyrics, and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which is responsible for the competition, gave the song the green light.
About 1,200 people were killed in Israel and 253 others were taken hostage during the Hamas attacks.
More than 34,500 people have been killed in Gaza by Israel’s military offensive since then, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry.
Commentators have suggested that it is one of the most politically charged Eurovision Song Contests ever.
Earlier this year, a thousand Swedish musicians signed an open letter urging Israel’s exclusion.
Artists have also been the target of criticism, and in a statement last month the EBU said: “We strongly oppose any form of online abuse, hate speech or harassment aimed at our artists.”
Speaking to international reporters this week, Danish newcomer SABA said she was under enormous pressure: “I have received a lot of messages and people can be very personal… even on the street.”
Israel’s National Security Council issued an advisory warning against travel to Malmö on Thursday.
With 360,000 inhabitants it is one of the most diverse cities in Sweden. Some members of Malmö’s 1,200-member Jewish community have said they feel nervous and anxious.
Malmö also has a sizable Palestinian community, and the competition has sparked strong sentiments for months and weekly protests demanding that the Eurovision Song Contest boycott Israel.
In the busy Triangeln area, Youma Kadoura, one of the meeting’s organizers and a Palestinian resident, told the BBC: “Israel is not welcome in Malmö because they are bombing civilians in Gaza.”
Kadoura points out that Russia was banned after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“We cannot accept or normalize genocide,” she said, a charge Israel vehemently rejects.
Police told the BBC that ten separate applications had been submitted for demonstrations over the coming week.
Two mass gatherings in central Malmö, a few kilometers away from the venue, will take place on Thursday and next Saturday, coinciding with the second semi-final and final.
Other protests will be ‘close’, but not in front of the arena. An alternative music performance is also performed.
Police expect the demonstration to be larger than the protests so far. “Some weekends we had as many as 20,000 people,” says police chief Petra Stenkula.
“We hope that even if we give a large number of demonstrators, they will follow the rules,” said Per-Erik Ebbestahl, adding that previous protests have been well organized and without problems.
Among other demonstrations is a planned burning of a Koran, which police have yet to decide. There is no law in Sweden prohibiting the desecration of religious texts, but such acts have often led to tensions.
“It’s something we work with all the time, but there have been hard feelings about these things in Malmö before,” the city’s police chief said.
But despite the excitement offstage, Eurovision will always be Eurovision, with a series of events including a special ABBA exhibition to mark 50 years since the Swedish quartet stole the show with Waterloo.
“I really hope it will be a fantastic, joyful week here in Malmö,” said Swedish television’s Ebba Adielsson. “Because there is so much love and passion for the Eurovision Song Contest.”
