The festival starts on Thursday afternoon and people from different parts of Sweden and Scandinavia are expected to visit it. The festival, which is held at Järvafältet, is considered to be the largest Eritrean in Scandinavia.
Regime critics have applied to have a demonstration against the cultural festival again this year.
The riots on Järvafältet
Man sentenced after riot at Eritrean festival at Järvafältet in Stockholm
Unrest at Järvafältet may affect future festivals
– We will be there and demonstrate, says Alazar Hagos.
Want to demonstrate around Rinkeby and Tensta
However, the police have refused their application to be on the festival grounds and instead directed them to a place under the bridge that goes under the E18 to keep the parties apart. But the demonstrators have come in with a new application to be allowed to go in a demonstration train around Rinkeby and Tensta – an application that the police have not yet granted.
The festival organizer believes that this year the police have worked more with security and cooperated better. They believe that the police did not take the warnings seriously last year.
Hear one of the protesters’ criticism of the cultural festival and one of the organizers explain what the event is about in the video above.