Under six intensive days in June, the political elite gathers in Visby, together with other holders of power, lobbyists, PR people, and ordinary people.
Large parts of the government are present and move around on Visby's streets and squares, notes Fredrik Persson, who in his daily life is a police area chief on Gotland.
It is necessary to have sufficient resources on site for the event to be carried out without problems arising.
It is an event where several meetings and expressions of opinion are taking place. From that perspective, it is intense with a program from early morning to evening, he says.
Popular task
The police on Gotland receive help from the mainland and according to Persson, it is a fairly popular task – even if it is also challenging. In addition to the long days, it is necessary to maintain focus.
We need to look for things that deviate and at an early stage prevent anything unpleasant from happening.
Last year, Almedalsveckan took place at a time of high terror threat level. Now it has been lowered from a four to a three on the five-grade scale.
I would not say that it affects significantly. The surroundings are changing, and things happen that we must relate to and take into account in our planning. Based on that, we plan just like before, says Fredrik Persson.
Another challenge is that the event takes place on an island without a fixed connection. In the best case, it can take hours to transport out personnel and equipment from the mainland. In the worst case – if, for example, a severe storm sets in – it may not be possible at all. Therefore, one must ensure that, for example, police horses are on site in good time before the week.
It feels good, I am secure with the planning, he says.
Vehicle barriers
Jonatan Ahdrian is the safety manager for Almedalsveckan and says that a challenge is to balance openness with safety. Large parts of central Visby are blocked off for vehicle traffic and vehicle barriers are set up to prevent anyone from driving into the crowds.
We try to make it difficult and prevent things that should not happen together with the police, he says.
But it is not just so-called "antagonistic threats" that the arrangement is protected from. It is also necessary to have plans for power outages, disruptions in the telephone networks, or if a fire breaks out.
All organizers and those who work with the arrangements are offered a safety training from MSB. The attitude is "if you see something, say something", if you think that something deviates. Safety is created together, he says.
Almedalen is a park in Visby, in the same place where the medieval harbor was located. After it was dried out, alders were planted on the site, hence the name.
Here, and in the surrounding urban area, Almedalsveckan is organized annually, which began in 1968 when Olof Palme gave a speech from a truck bed.
Almedalsveckan has 2,100 events this year, which 1,300 organizers arrange. About 35,000 visitors are expected to the area. Almedalsveckan takes place on June 23-27 this year.
Source: Almedalsveckan.info
