Nobel banquet staff to face security screenings

Staff working at Stockholm's Nobel Prize banquet next week will undergo stricter security checks than usual given the country's raised threat level, local media reported on Wednesday.

Swedish security service Sapo will perform background checks against several databases in order to prevent potential terrorist acts, the authority told daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

"Those affected must consent to the background checks," Sapo spokesperson Fredrik Milder told the paper, adding that up 800 people would be under scrutiny.

The banquet, held on Dec. 10 every year at Stockholm's city hall, is attended by Nobel laureates, heads of state and prominent business and political leaders. None of the invited guests would be checked, Sapo said.

Following the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris last month, the security service raised Sweden's terror threat level to four on a five-point scale, a record high. Endit