Tension in Malmö before Eurovision: Israel raises travel warning

The Swedish city of Malmö will be a lot fuller in the coming week as it hosts the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. 38 countries participate in two semifinals, on Tuesday and Thursday, to make it to the final on Saturday. However, protests involving the Gaza war are expected to cast a shadow over the festivities.

As The Mirror reports, the Israeli National Security Agency (NISA) plans to raise the threat level for travelers to Sweden from two to three. It does so because of tensions surrounding the country's participation in the competition while it's waging war on Gaza. The NISA stated that "Malmö is recognized as a hub for anti-Israel protests, given its high concentration of immigrants from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran."

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More than 100,000 visitors are expected during the large-scale event in the Swedish port which, normally, has 360,000 inhabitants. As local authorities recognize, it's not just a time for celebration but there's also concern about safety at the event.

In August 2023, Sweden raised its terrorist alert level to four on a scale of five after Islamist groups called for attacks there. The threats were a response to the desecration of the Koran on Swedish soil.

"The level of threats is high," confirmed Petra Stenkula (photo), police chief in Malmö, during a press conference on April 17. And the global geopolitical context also has something to do with it.

Against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, Israel's participation in the Eurovision contest is causing great tension. Calls for boycotts, as well as pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrations, have increased in Malmö.

Sweden's third city after Stockholm and Gothenburg, Malmö is known for its cultural diversity. A large part of the Swedish population of Palestinian origin resides there.

The Washington Post reports that many activists and artists have called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), organizer of the Eurovision Song Contest, to exclude Israel from the competition.

But the idea was quickly dismissed by the organizers. "The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political music event and a competition between public service broadcasters who are members of the EBU. It is not a contest between governments," said Noel Curran, director general of the Eurovision Song Contest.

As a reminder, Russia has been excluded from the Eurovision contest since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In that case, therefore, the EBU did decide to take a stance against a national government's actions.

According to Le Monde, the Malmö police chief said during her press conference that authorization requests had been submitted for around ten demonstrations.

In the context of these varied protests, Per-Erik Ebbeståhl, the city's security director, says that "security will be visible" throughout Eurovision. Security checks for those entering the various sites of the event will be strongly reinforced. In addition, bags will mostly be banned, he said.

For her part, Petra Stenkula announced that certain agents will be equipped with heavy weapons which usually are not seen on the streets of Malmö, or Sweden, for that matter.

"We are in a situation where we need to take precautionary measures and have on hand the tools that we might need in the event of a serious incident," the police spokesperson explained.

With Swedish police already deployed across the country due to the high terrorism alert, reinforcements from Norway and Denmark are meant to ensure the safety of participants and visitors in Malmö during the Eurovision Song Contest

At the Song Contest in Malmö, artists from Australia, Ireland, and the UK will compete, among dozens of other nationalities. Pictured is Ireland's artist, Bambie Thug, whose song 'Doomsday Blue' we can hear on the first semifinal on May 7.

Image: EBU / Eurovision

For Australia, Electric Fields will perform their song 'One Milkali (One Blood)', a composition with Australian aboriginal influences. They are scheduled to compete in the first semifinal on May 7.

Olly Alexander of the UK will go directly to the big final on Saturday, May 11, as the UK is one of the 'Big Five' contributors to EBU.

As the Malmö police spokesperson said, "we have built a robust system with different areas of responsibility to ensure a safe and secure event." It seems, from her statement and the others, that Malmö is prepared for anything in the coming week.

The Israeli security agency NISA is not so sure and prepares for the worst: "Alongside the protests in Malmo, there has been a recent surge in calls from global jihadist groups and radical Islamists to carry out attacks against Western targets," it states. "This includes specific threats against Israelis and Jews worldwide, with a particular focus on events garnering significant media attention." Eurovision may be a target for terrorists, Israel claims.

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