The Dalmatian capital is still a very safe city.
Split Mayor Ivo Baldasar announced possible increased security measures for the next year’s Ultra Festival of electronic music, which is traditionally held in Split in July and attracts tens of thousands of visitors, mostly young people. “There are indications that we will have to discuss it with the organizers and Croatian security services. I do not think that there is a question of whether the festival should be held, but we will have to change our approach a bit, since this is an event which attracts people from some 60 different nations. Nearly all of them are young, and they come from a large number of European and non-European countries”, Baldasar said on Wednesday answering a journalist’s question whether Ultra 2016 is in question due to security issues, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on December 3, 2015.
He noted that, if the security is increased for Ultra 2016, that would mean additional costs, since better security requires investments. Baldasar said that for the Christmas Fair, which began recently at the waterfront and Prokurative, “we had to invest more in security than last year by order of the police”. He did not specify the amount of the increase, but said it was a “large amount”.
Deputy Mayor of Split Goran Kovačević pointed out that – according to the latest information of the Split Police Department – the city is one of the safest in the world and there is no indication that the security could be compromised. However, due to global events and recent terrorist attack in Paris, it was likely that next year additional security measures would be taken.
According to Kovačević, this is especially true for Ultra Festival, which brings 50,000 to 60,000 visitors to Split. Police will make an assessment with the organizers in relation to the number of security guards and police officers needed for security. “Due to the current events in European cities, together with the police we are in a kind of state of increased alert”, Kovačević said. He explained that all public institutions in Split will be invited to “review their emergency and security measures”.
“We are going to do that, not because we have any indication that something might happen, but just in order to be ready to do what we usually do, and also because of these recent events”, Kovačević added.
