Swedish media outlet Dagens Nyheter has provided an update on the security situation regarding the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö scheduled for May.

DN’s journalists interviewed Ebba Adielsson, Swedish broadcaster SVT’s Executive Producer for Eurovision on SVT. She confirmed that planning work is “well underway” and the safety of the event is “an absolute focus”.

” […] just like every year, it maintains a very high standard. The event is always planned based on the prevailing threat picture and we follow developments closely, all the time in collaboration with the EBU, the city of Malmö, the arena, the police and other law enforcement authorities.”

An uptick of violent crime in Sweden and unrest in several countries in the Eurovision family are combining to make the security situation more complex this year. The EBU and SVT’s responsibilities end outside the Malmö Arena. It is up to the city of Malmö and law enforcement to keep fans safe at other venues, like the Turquoise Carpet, Euroclub and other Eurovision events around the city.

Karin Karlsson is the Project Manager in charge of Eurovision 2024. She had the same role when Malmö hosted back in 2013. She explains how things have changed since the last time Eurovision was held in the city, and how they are planning for 2024:

“In 2013 we decided on locations and did a safety assessment afterwards, this time we have chosen a number of locations and an assessment will be made in advance. [… we are looking at] places where there is already a stage structure and where we are used to working with security. […] It is difficult to judge where we will be in May 2024. We will probably plan for a number of different scenarios so that we can easily scale up and down. […] it feels particularly important that we can implement this and that we can do it in a way that makes everyone feel safe and welcome. We want to have as open and democratic an event as possible.”

DN also spoke with Malmö’s police who commented that planning has begun to ensure that Eurovision 2024 is a safe event, but they could not comment on specifics at this stage. Meanwhile Karlsson urges visitors to come and enjoy themselves:

“I don’t think you should be worried. We have a very large security apparatus around this. It involves both visible and invisible measures that allow visitors to feel safe, both in the arena and in the city.”

What do you think about the situation in Malmö? Are you planning on attending the festivities in May? Let us know in the comments below or on our socials @escbubble!