7-Day Major Operation
Maximum Security: Even the FBI Is Protecting the ESC
When the Song Contest week kicks off this coming Sunday, a seven-day major operation will also begin for the Vienna Police. Several hundred officers will be on duty every day. Support is even coming from the FBI.
Restrictions on public gatherings are being prepared and will likely be in effect at least on the days of the event. The police expect protests mainly from pro-Palestine activists, said Provincial Deputy Police Chief Dieter Csefan at a press conference on Tuesday.
A few gatherings—the number is currently in the single digits—have already been registered. However, this could change significantly, as the deadline for registering a demonstration or rally is always 48 hours in advance.
Security to meet airport standards
One challenge was—and remains—ensuring a high level of security. This is intended to reach the standard of an international airport, particularly in and around the Stadthalle. To achieve this, among other things, approximately 16,000 people who are “in any way connected to the Song Contest” must undergo security screening, said Csefan.
This included and continues to include private security, which handles, among other things, visitor admission checks. “We receive an alert regarding a specific person and forward it to the organizer. The organizer must then decide whether to continue employing the person in question or not,” explained Csefan. There have already been several such alerts.
Such alerts can arise, for example, due to criminal records, but also due to political activities, which are reviewed by the Directorate for State Security/Intelligence Services. If the alerts are sufficiently concrete, “we naturally insist that the person in question not remain employed in the ESC environment,” said the Deputy State Police President.
FBI established its own task force
Support for enhanced security is also coming from the U.S. The FBI has established its own task force in New York City to assist colleagues from the Austrian intelligence service during ESC week, particularly regarding potential cyberattacks.
Meanwhile, the terror alert level remains at the second-highest level. “There is a latent risk of attacks, but no concrete evidence,” said Csefan.
“Geozone” around main venues
Another important point is that a so-called “geozone”—a 1.5-kilometer radius around the three main venues (Stadthalle, Rathausplatz, and Prater)—has been established. Within this zone, there is a complete flight ban, even for mini-drones weighing less than 250 grams. “Flying a drone around there is not a good idea,” said Xenia Zauner, police operations commander for the ESC.
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