A month away, preparations to secure the first Eurovision song contest to take place in Portugal are already underway.
The Altice Arena, where the event will run between May 7-12, is being “sterilised” tomorrow (Wednesday) and will then be sealed off – any arrivals thereafter being rigorously controlled with the use of screening equipment.
Say reports, authorities are most concerned about the delegations from Russia and Israel, though the PSP chief in charge of security has stressed “all contestants deserve special attention”.
Alexandre Coimbra, who arrives in Lisbon to oversee Eurovision from a PSP mission in Algeria, has told journalists that the operation is “a huge challenge”.
“It is the biggest event of all time in Lisbon which will involve all the authorities: PSP, GNR, ANPC, Sappers, INEM, SEF, municipal police, etc.”, he said, adding that the international competition will bring “thousands to Lisbon, committees from 42 countries each one with its own specific characteristics”.
At the same time Eurovision is being seen as subject to the kind of “universal threats for any type of event in this context”.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
