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Mystery Guest at Berlin Security Conference Triggers Citywide Closures

Closed airspace, rerouted buses and 3,400 police officers brought to the capital. But who is the keynote speaker at Berlin’s security conference?

Mystery Guest at Berlin Security Conference Triggers Citywide Closures
Image: Wikimedia Commons, Leonhard Lenz, CC by 4.0

UPDATE: The mystery speaker is Volodymyr Zelensky

Extremely heightened security measures like the ones in place on Tuesday are usually reserved for state officials of the very highest level – and yet, until 10am this morning, when the mystery speaker takes the stage, no one knows who is coming. Merz’s official schedule only lists a reception with military honours for the Lithuanian president. Some reports have speculated at a possible shortlist of Netanyahu, the Pope and Macron – or Volodymyr Zelensky.

Last year, activists tipped blood-red paint outside the hotel entrance – claiming the conference was responsible for “war, death and destruction.”