The Latvian capital is in danger of being thrown into chaos this weekend as the climax of its 800th anniversary approaches.

Well over a million visitors, including top foreign officials, are expected to turn up for the festivities, which are to take place Aug. 17-19. Latvia's police threatened last week that they could not to take responsibility for the well-being of visitors unless the City Council puts essential security barriers into place. Officials in the City Council have finally purchased the safety barriers, it was announced on Aug. 13. But they may have broken procedures in doing so. No tender was announced to buy them. According to Baltic News Service, the City Council reassured critics that 70,000 lats ($110,000) have been spent on the barriers, with an additional 103,000 lats spent to ensure Riga 800 will be a safe and memorable festival. President Vaira Vike-Freiberga said she would attend some of the events. After she met with Gundars Bojars, Riga's mayor, on Aug. 14, she reassured the press that there was little reason to worry about security. She pointed out that the City Council has taken adequate precautions to avoid any serious incidents. Rudite Kalpina, a spokeswoman for the Riga 800 agency responsible for the celebration program, confirmed that there would be around 1 million visitors in Riga this weekend.