Singer Aden Golan, President Yitzhak (Boji) Herzog and his wife, Michal Herzog/video: photographer Avi Kaner, recorder Uri Bozaglo; Stills: Haim Tzach, CEO
The headache known as "Eurovision 2024" has already become a real migraine, not only for the Israeli delegation, but for the Malmö police as a whole, which will receive reinforcements during the two weeks leading up to the Eurovision from the rest of Sweden, as well as from neighboring Norway and Denmark. All this to deal with the unprecedented security expected around what we still call, for some reason, a "singing contest".
The approximately 100,000 visitors who are expected to arrive in the host city during the competition are expected to be greeted by thousands of armed police, including submachine guns that will be visible to the eye, in case someone plans unwanted activity. "We are currently in a situation where, as a precautionary measure, we must ensure that we have the capabilities and tools we may need in the event of a serious incident," says Petra Stankula, head of the division responsible for Eurovision security at the Malmö Police, at a press conference on the security preparations for the competition. Let's remember: the third largest city in Sweden is home to more than 360,000 inhabitants, a significant part of its population is of Palestinian origin, and many others are Muslim.
So far, at least six applications have been submitted for permits to demonstrate against Israel's participation in the competition, but another application has also arrived, one that could, to put it simply, ignite Malmo. According to a report in SVT news, the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation, the police received a request to burn a Koran on May 3, a day before the opening of the Eurovision events in the city, two days before the turquoise carpet event, and deep into the rehearsal phase. The police are examining the document, which is called a "request for holding a public gathering", and a decision has not yet been made whether to accept it.
The police effort surrounding the Eurovision Song Contest is described in the Swedish media as one of the largest ever in the southern part of the country, and in the rest of the country there are also fears of disturbances, especially if the request to burn the Koran will be approved.
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About two weeks ago, Israeli Eurovision fans told Walla Tarbut that they do not intend to walk around the city with Israeli flags: "We will take the flag folded in a bag and open it in the hall," they said. They will have to find another solution for the flag, because it is forbidden to enter with bags anywhere where Eurovision events are held, including Malmö Arena, Malmö Live, Folkets Park. According to a report on the website sydsvenskan.se, a bag check at the entrance is also expected in the hotels in the city.
Eurovision host Pietra Maida, who returned to her position for the third time, tells Aftonblodt newspaper that she and her co-host, Molin Aukerman, will be closely accompanied by bodyguards throughout their stay in Malmö. "Personally," she says without elaborating, "it is impossible to remain indifferent to the suffering that is occurring while we are sitting here, there are no words to describe how deplorable the state of our world is."
"The Eurovision Song Contest doesn't change world politics, but we'll still try to create some joy during this week," Maiden says, "maybe there will be a little respite where we'll create a little more joy than sadness in the little things, that's what we're trying to do."
Some of the Eurovision participants receive threats on their lives from pro-Palestinians, even though they are against Israel. This does not satisfy those minds, some of them not fans of the competition at all, who target the participants because they refuse to withdraw from the competition. Maiden herself does not know whether she is being attacked on social networks or not, simply because she avoids them. "I don't feel fear, I completely trust the security work and the decisions my environment makes," she concludes.
Per-Erik Abstahl, Malmö's security director, warns against the spread of false information and intimidation ahead of Eurovision week. According to him, despite a tense world situation and concerns on the part of local volunteers and tourists, he feels safe "and others should feel the same", he said.