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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Ellen Kirwin

Warning issued to potential protesters ahead of Eurovision in Liverpool

Merseyside Police chief superintendent has warned people not to try and "embarrass" Eurovision.

Chief Superintendent Jonathan Davies said that while no specific protest has been announced, the force is "planning" for the possibility after a recent spate of protests. Merseyside police recently dealt with a protest at the Grand National.

The World Snooker Championships, in Sheffield, were also stopped on Monday by another campaigner. Given the disruptions to big events, the senior officer told the BBC they're "planning for it".

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He said: "We're planning for it, I'm happy with the level of planning. We just ask that people don't try and embarrass it or cause problems for themselves because 161 million people will be watching this.

"I think we just need to understand how important it is to the people of Ukraine that we deliver a safe, respectful event on their behalf."

The policing operation for Eurovision would be "bigger and more complex" than previous events held in the region. He added: "We have the [Labour] conference here every year, so we know conferences and how it works.

"We know music events on the Pier Head and how they work. We know about mass events. The challenge here and the complexities is we're doing all of those at the same time throughout that nine-day period."

There will be 5,500 police officers working across the nine days. However, he added that despite the challenges ahead, the police plans were in place and the force was "ready to go."

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