Paul McCartney performed a well-received concert in Israel yesterday, under the protection of a team of 5,000 security guards. Which is probably what you'd expect, really, given the circumstances, but just to put it in perspective, this apparently dwarfs the operation put in place when president George W Bush visited the country.
As you'll remember, threats were made against McCartney, who insisted on playing the concert, despite pleas from activists asking him to cancel. On the level of security employed, one 'insider' is quoted as saying: "No one is taking anything for granted. The level of security is unlike anything we've seen. Everything is being done to ensure that this passes peacefully and without incident".
The cost of the operation, it's claimed, is £1.5 million, to be split between the show's promoters and the Israeli government. Which is a lot of money to keep one man safe, even if he is a former Beatle.