Complex security challenges are plaguing the opening of the Nova Music Festival Exhibition in London. Exhibition organizers announced on Sunday that they had to remove the main sign at the site just days before it was scheduled to open to the public.
The removal follows an official request by the London Metropolitan Police, which expressed concern for antisemitic incidents, violent riots, and extreme anti-Israel demonstrations planned to be held outside the exhibition before it opens its doors.
The police explained to the organizers that the sign prematurely reveals the exact location of the exhibition in central London, which may enable radical elements to organize targeted demonstrations or create security threats to the site.
As part of this strategy, it was decided that the exhibition's location would be kept under strict secrecy and the main sign would be reerected on the morning of the official opening during the coming week.
The exhibit, which has already passed through nine cities around the world, bringing 600,000 visitors, includes a haunting reconstruction of the festival site in Re'im, including the original stages, the sound equipment that went silent, bullet-riddled cars, and thousands of personal belongings of the victims and hostages.
The organizers describe the security apparatus that will operate around the London exhibit as unprecedented and extraordinary in its scope for cultural and commemorative events in the city.
The Met Police is expected to deploy an extensive ring of security, including overt and covert forces, special units at the access zones, and advanced technological means to track and locate threats in real-time.
The heightened alertness follows from past experiences at previous tour stops around the world, and mainly from the tense demonstrations outside the exhibition in New York.