SL reviews guards who removed musicians before they played

A video showing security guards removing singer William Sundman Sääf and fellow musicians from the Stockholm metro before they played has attracted millions of views on Instagram, SVT reports. Stockholm public transport operator SL says it is reviewing the incident.

In the clip, the musicians have their instruments in cases. The guards say they fear the group will disturb public order, and police are called. SL says traffic control also decided to empty a train at Alvik, temporarily affecting services.

Performing music on Stockholm’s public transport without permission is prohibited. SL press chief Andreas Strömberg said there is a legal basis for acting before musicians begin playing, but staff must behave respectfully and take the circumstances into account.

“In this case, the people were probably known for what they usually do on public transport, and that may have made the guards act somewhat brusquely,” Strömberg told SVT. He said SL had not yet reviewed the whole incident.

Sundman Sääf said he does not think performers should need permission to play on SL services. He said he understands the need to be considerate of other passengers, but estimated that he performs on about one in every 40,000 departures. He added that he would be happy to hear musicians when travelling, and that passengers also have to put up with hearing people discuss sexually transmitted diseases on their phones.