Sweden boosts security for Eurovision ahead of major anti-Israel protests

Host city of Malmo on high alert with Israeli contestant advised not to leave her hotel room

Sweden is tightening security ahead of hosting the Eurovision Song Contest, with police handed larger weapons and reinforcement officers brought in from Denmark and Norway.
It comes amid warnings of large demonstrations planned in host-city Malmo to coincide with the event.
Protestors say they will challenge Israel’s participation in the song contest amid its military offence in the Gaza Strip, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Eden Golan, the Israeli contestant, has been told by Israel’s Shin Bet security service not to leave her hotel room due to security concerns.
Petra Stenkula, the Malmo police chief, said the whole country was already “on a terror level of four out of five”, and that protests have already been held in Malmo over Israel’s participation in the competition.
Drones will be used for surveillance, and guests will have to pass through airport-style security controls when entering venues.
The European Broadcasting Union, the Geneva-based organisers, have also said they reserve the right to remove any Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian symbols at the show.
It follows months of controversy over Israel’s entry. The country’s entrant Eden Golon was forced to modify the lyrics and title of her original song, “October Rain”, after it was deemed too political and said to reference the Oct 7 Hamas attack. The European Broadcasting Union then permitted Ms Golon to compete with the renamed “Hurricane”.
As many as 100,000 visitors are expected to arrive in the south-west city for the week-long festivities, while 200 million viewers are estimated to tune in worldwide.
The city houses 360,000 people and is one of Sweden’s most diverse, but the Jewish community of around 1,200 people has said it is worried about being targeted by protests.
“There’s a certain feeling of apprehension, of tension,” Felix Krausz Sjögren, a guide at the synagogue in Malmo, told Reuters, about the large protests planned for May 9, when Israel will take part in the second semi-final, and May 11, the final.
On Thursday, Israel’s National Security Council issued an advisory warning against travel to Malmo, citing  “well-founded concern that terrorist elements will exploit the protests and the anti-Israel mood to carry out attacks against Israelis attending Eurovision”.
Ms Stenkula, the police chief, said there were no specific threats to the event, but the alert level was raised last August, following a spate of Quran-burnings that angered the Muslim world.