Authorities and doctors in London are standing by to ensure that everything goes smoothly until Queen Elizabeth's funeral is over. Their job is to balance the need to protect world leaders and VIPs who will attend Monday's ceremony with the need for ordinary people to say their final goodbyes to their queen.
Some have compared the event to the London Olympics, but in fact such a state funeral has been held for the first time since the death of Winston Churchill in 1965.
Codenamed "Operation London Bridge", the arrangements for Britain's longest-living monarch began many years ago with the involvement of various agencies and with every detail signed by the queen herself before she passed away.
The city is seeing unprecedented crowds queuing hours before the funeral ceremony.
According to the authorities, such an event has turned out to be even bigger than the 2012 Olympic Games and at the same time bigger than the events organized during the Platinum Jubilee weekend.
Also for the police this is the biggest security operation ever undertaken, as hundreds of world leaders and important people of the world have arrived in London.
Invitations have been sent to heads of state, famous politicians, public figures, European royalty, etc. while the crowd continues to grow as each passing minute approaches the funeral ceremony.
Joe Biden was among the first to confirm his participation, while the event is said to be attended by up to 2,000 people.
The authorities have stated that these days, the police should take over everything. According to them, there is always someone "obsessed with a member of the royal family or someone suffering from mental health issues", so preparedness and security must be as precise as ever.
Source: CNN
