The city festival is arranged this year for the first time in three years.
It had 290,000 visitors in 2019 and safety is therefore a key issue.
The tickets are almost sold out this year and many young people will experience concerts and festival atmosphere for the first time in a long time.
The fact that more young people visit the festival is viewed with joy, but also by preparing the safety for them.
This is done, among other things, by Dare to Care, which is an initiative from RFSU and Svensk Live, participating in the festival.
Dare to Care was launched in 2018 and is, among other things, about being at festivals and concerts to counteract sexual abuse.
They want to discuss consent and also educate visitors to be an active spectator and intervene if they see that an abuse is about to take place.
- What is new this year is that we work more preventively.
We have worked with these issues with the County Administrative Board of Västmanland previously both in the planning and on site, but now we are expanding it, says Ann-Sophie Sund, project manager at Visit Västerås.
Is there anything that indicates that problems can arise at the City Festival?
- There are no more incidents or so that occur compared to other events, but on the other hand, there are many people, many young people, gathered in a small area, and therefore these security issues are important to us, says Ann-Sophie Sund.
- There are about 50 people who only work with safety and security at the festival, says Brandon Wade, security strategist at the City of Västerås.
During Västerås City Festival, about 20 security guards and a number of patrolling first aid groups work in the area.