A Swedish man was sentenced to eight years in prison for planning a terror attack at Eurovision 2020 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His goal: to cause mass panic and kill as many attendees as possible.
A 23-year-old man from Sweden was sentenced in Luxembourg to eight years in prison, six of them suspended, for planning a terror attack targeting Eurovision 2020 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands – the contest later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Luxembourg court delivered the sentence on November 27th, 2025. The case focused on a broad conspiracy aimed at Eurovision 2020 in Rotterdam, as well as additional targets in Sweden and the Netherlands, involving weapons offences, terror-attack planning, and engagement with neo-Nazi and extremist groups.
Among the plans revealed during the investigation were releasing chlorine gas into the audience, blocking emergency exits inside the venue, and infiltrating security teams. Beyond the severity of the schemes, the revelations raise troubling questions about security levels at major international events – particularly Eurovision, which has long been a symbolic target for extremist movements. The plans were detailed in a Google Docs file written by the suspect and an accomplice from the Netherlands. They intended to kill as many attendees as possible in order to “spark an ideological revolution”.
Foiling the Planned Eurovision Attack
In early 2020, police in the town of Strassen near the city of Luxembourg raided the young man’s home – at the time he was an 18-year-old, Swedish descent. In the basement, officers discovered a fully equipped chemistry setup containing materials and tools that experts said could be used to manufacture explosives and toxic gas.
Investigators also found an online document titled “Eurovision 2020”, co-authored with a Dutch collaborator, outlining detailed ideas for carrying out an attack during the contest in Rotterdam. The file laid out various attack methods, including poisoning with cyanide and ricin gas, and dispersing chlorine through ventilation systems – all aimed at creating mass panic during one of the world’s largest cultural events. The attack was never carried out, and Eurovision 2020 was ultimately cancelled due to the pandemic.
The Perpetrator
The trial examined the young man’s extensive activity within far-right extremist networks. He was a member of the neo-Nazi terrorist organisation “The Base”, as well as other radical groups. Additional offences included setting fire to an abandoned farm in Sweden as part of a propaganda effort operated with an accomplice – an act for which he was later convicted – and a series of further extremist activities, such as planning an attack on a fuel facility near his mother’s home in Sweden, monitoring power stations in the Netherlands in preparation for potential assaults, and preparing a letter-bomb intended for a Swedish advertising company in response to a campaign referencing multicultural roots of Nordic symbols.
In earlier hearings, investigators described how he shared bomb-making materials, assisted in recruiting and training activists in extremist organisations, including “The Base” and “The Green Brigade” and discussed additional attacks on infrastructure and businesses in Sweden and the Netherlands. He also distributed racist and extremist messages, including references to neo-Nazi slogans.
The verdict
The trial handed down in Luxembourg includes a verdict of eight years in prison, six of them suspended, along with a five-year probation period. The probation is contingent upon his participation in a deradicalisation programme, requiring periodic proof of compliance. Failure to meet the programme’s terms would trigger activation of the suspended portion of the sentence.
The young man, now studying chemistry in Sweden, claimed in court that he no longer holds extremist views, describing himself merely as conservative. However, investigators portrayed him as someone deeply immersed in extremist ideology, noting no evidence of meaningful ideological disengagement.
Eurovision 2026 Security
Although the suspect was apprehended and the planned attacks thwarted, recent Eurovision editions have still raised security concerns among European fan communities. In past contests, including Vienna, authorities have investigated additional threats — such as a planned attack during a Taylor Swift performance, and, more recently, the discovery by Austria’s domestic intelligence service of a weapons cache believed to be linked to extremist groups within the host city.
Austria has already announced reinforced security measures for Eurovision 2026. An expanded protection framework will be deployed across all Eurovision events, coordinated with Vienna police. According to authorities, stringent airport-level screening procedures will apply to all entry and exit points to ensure that visitors can enjoy the event safely.
Eurovision 2026: The 70th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Austria, following the country’s third historic win with the song “Wasted Love” performed by JJ. This will be the third time the contest is hosted in Austria, after 1967 and 2015.
