Malmö prepares for song contest under close surveillance

The Swedish city, which hosts the European Song Contest at the start of May, is expecting protests and disruptions, particularly due to conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

This is the seventh time that Sweden, a country where the competition is followed religiously, has hosted the competition, the year in which it will celebrate 50 years since its first success Waterloo, from the legendary group ABBA. The 68th edition of the Eurovision song contest will be held in Malmö, Sweden’s third city, at the southern end of the country, from May 7 to 11, 2024. The city has already hosted it twice before, in 1992 and then in 2013 .

Multiplicity of threats

In the southern city of 362 133 residents – and 186 nationalities – work is intensifying to ensure the reliability of public transport around the event from the 5th May and until the 11th next May, the logos of this 68th edition slowly beginning to spread. But many of the preparations take place behind the scenes, due to the multiplicity of threats. “We have the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the war in Ukraine which affects Sweden and there is an increased risk of influence operations, cyberattacks,” lists for AFP Ulf Nilsson, the city’s security manager. “We live in troubled times.”

Faced with tensions, and while Sweden raised its alert level last summer after acts of desecration of the Koran, the police say they are ready. “It is not unknown to us that conflicts around the globe can affect our work and the daily lives of the people of Malmö,” notes, in an understatement, police spokesperson Niels Norling.

In the city, where a large part of Sweden’s population of Palestinian origin lives, the conflict between Israel and Hamas has added a new dimension to preparations. “We cannot directly say that this gives us more problems, but these are new variables that we must take into account in our work,” says the police officer. “A few months before the event, we already have requests to authorize gatherings either in favor of Israeli participation or in protest,” he adds.

Expected events

On the side of public television SVT, which is organizing the event with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), all scenarios are being considered. “We are absolutely prepared for there to be protests outside the venue, so we are preparing for that, but also inside,” explains executive producer Ebba Adielsson. A petition titled “No Eurovision in Malmö with the participation of Israel” has gathered more than 800 signatures and must be discussed in the municipal council in April. It remains symbolic, because the EBU has validated Israeli participation.

In 2013, when Malmö organized the 58th edition of the European song contest, residents protested against Israeli participation. “This is the first time since the Gaza war that Israel has participated in an international event, so it is also the first time that the BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions Against Israel) movement has a chance to protest Israel on a level overall”, notes political scientist Anders Persson of Linnaeus University. Especially since Malmö, located in the far south of Sweden, is easily accessible for activists from all over the world.

Positive communication from Malmö City Hall

Karin Karlsson, the event manager at Malmö town hall, does not fear excesses. “This is Sweden and we are in Malmö. We want to show that we can have different opinions, but we express them peacefully,” she assures. The police, who say they are widely mobilized, refuse to communicate on the arrival of possible reinforcements to ensure the safety of the approximately 100 000 tourists from 80 different countries for the occasion. “The event has an increased power of attraction”, welcomes Karine Karlsson. “Eurovision 2024 is much more important than 2013, it’s an event that has grown in size as a whole.”

“They want to project a positive image by saying : we are happy to welcome him”, quips the academic, who believes that Malmö would never have been chosen if the selection process had taken place after the start of the war. Some fans of the contest decided to boycott it because of Israel’s participation. “The Eurovision Song Contest is part of my DNA. I grew up with it,” says Monia Aissaoui, a teacher of 41 years. But this year, she will skip it because “Given their firm stance towards Russia in the past, they should have adopted the same stance towards Israel more than ever.”