On Friday, the celebration of the king’s 50 years on the throne begins – several hundred thousand people are expected to come to see the procession and participate in the celebration in Stockholm’s inner city.
At the same time, the terror threat level was recently raised from a three to a four on the five-point scale, and the celebration is framed by an unusually large police effort.
Michael Fetz is the coordinator for the fight against terrorism in the Stockholm Police Region and he says that the police have been preparing this operation for a long time and they will use all available resources.
– It is a very complex police effort with many actors involved, and we use many of the abilities that the police have at their disposal, such as drones, police helicopters, boats, uniformed police officers and plainclothes police officers.
Outside the Castle, preparations have been going on for several days.
“You have to look around”
During Friday, salutes are fired, the king gives a speech and there will be a jubilee dinner at the castle with many invited dignitaries from abroad. During Saturday, there will be a procession through the city’s streets where the royal couple both ride on horse and carriage and car, and finally also ride over the water in the royal sloop Vasaorden.
A month ago, the terrorist threat level was raised, but the police see no reason to postpone the king’s celebration. Michael Fetz says that it is the police’s position that you should continue to do what you usually do, but with increased vigilance.
– You should look around and if there is something that deviates from what feels normal, you should react and contact the police.
He says that there will be many visible police out in Stockholm during the celebration and it is fine to contact them, and that it is judged that the security around the Royal Family is high.