Sweden’s terrorist threat requires an emergency meeting at Eurovision – The Minister of Justice has a message for Eurovision fans – 2024-04-25 23:14:53

Gunnar Strömmer says that the police are preparing for protests. AOP

The Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Sweden this year, where a high terrorist threat has been declared. According to NCT, the authority that monitors the threat of terrorism in Sweden, the terrorist threat level is currently 4: high threat.

According to the local newspaper Afronbladet, this is why the Ministry of Justice invited several ministries to a meeting with the Swedish security police Säpö last week.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss guaranteeing the security of Eurovision. Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer, 51, will continue regular meetings with Säpö and the police until the singing competition in May.

According to Strömmer, Eurovision itself is the reason for extensive security measures, but of course the terrorist threat in Sweden also affects the measures. Strömmer tells Aftonbladet how worried he is that something bad would happen at Eurovision.

– Then there will be a lot of people on the move. The police are also preparing for the fact that there will be different expressions of opinion, which must be taken very seriously, the man commented.

Strömmer also does not rule out that the threat image would also be affected by a protest against Israel’s participation in the competition. The European Broadcasting Union EBU approved Israel’s participation in Eurovision, despite many calling for the country to be excluded from the contest due to the conflict in the Middle East.

– If we look at the event from a wider context, we know that Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and the resulting conflict have caused the international situation to worsen. This includes the risk that it will lead to increasing polarization and radicalization, Strömmer reflects.

The Minister of Justice, however, has a clear message for worried Visu fans who are about to attend the event.

– All the measures that have been taken due to the higher threat of terrorism and Eurovision will be done so that people can participate in such an event. Ultimately, it is the individual’s decision to attend the event.

The first Eurovision semi-final is on May 7 and the second on May 9. The final of the competition is on May 11. The singing competition takes place in Malmö.

Sweden is represented this year by a Norwegian brother duo Marcus & Martin with his piece Unforgettable. Finland’s visa representative is Windows95man with his piece No rules.