Vienna's deputy police chief Dieter Csefan called Eurovision Week "a complex challenge," which in Austrian official register reads as the largest peacetime security operation the city has run this decade. [1] The Vienna Police Directorate's own FAQ lists the deployment: regular uniformed service, criminal investigation at state and federal level, the Cobra counter-terrorism unit, drone defence, the Air Police, the WEGA rapid response unit, sniffer dogs trained on explosives, bomb disposal, and a 24-hour operations centre staffed throughout. [2] Sixteen thousand staff have been vetted. Five hundred officers are deployed at the Stadthalle every day. [2]

The eve of Saturday's Grand Final coincides with Nakba Day, which Vienna police have publicly acknowledged could lift tensions further. [3] Senior officer Xenia Zauner told a Wednesday press briefing the force expected "blockades and disruptive actions, particularly on the day of the final, whether through authorised or unauthorised gatherings." [4] Pro- and anti-Israel demonstrations registered with authorities are expected to exceed 3,000 participants combined. [4] Drones are banned within 1.5 kilometres of the Stadthalle, the Rathausplatz Eurovision Village, and the Praterdome Euro Club. [2]

The boycott is operating inside the broadcast too. RTÉ, RTVE and Slovenia's RTV have refused to air the contest. Ireland is broadcasting The End of the World with Beanz featuring 1993 winner Niamh Kavanagh as a reindeer herder; Spain has The House of Music; Slovenia has Voices of Palestine. [5] The paper noted on May 12 that Austria's security spend exceeded three times the contest's prize purse. Two days from the Saturday final, the receipts confirm it.

-- CHARLES ASHFORD, London