This paper focuses on the practices of surveillance, censorship and control executed by the Ottoman state- and local authorities, over the charity concerts, the collective singing of foreign national anthems in public and semi-public spaces, and the content of musical plays. It engages the control over entertainment and music – its organized and spontaneous forms in the public space - in fin de siècle Istanbul. The paper tackles these issues, in view of the maintenance of public order –physical security - and public morality, the securing of the legitimacy of the state, and of the stance of the Ottoman ruling elite regarding the plurality of the public sphere and the multiple political allegiances of the empire’s subjects which ran the risk of challenging the ideals of Ottoman patriotism. The functioning of the agents of state control – the police force (zabtiye) – their practices and their discourse concerning the various acts which they considered to be “suspicious” will be investigated. The paper will be based on various documents in the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives (Ba?bakanl?k Osmanl? Ar?ivleri), Istanbul, i.e. the reports of the Police Ministry (Y?ld?z Zabtiye Nezareti Maruzat?), the petitions and spy reports (Y?ld?z Arzuhal ve Jurnaller) both addressed to the Y?ld?z Palace, and also the correspondence of the Interior Ministry (Dahiliye Muhaberat-? Umumiye Idaresi Kalem Evrak?, code: DH. MUI). One of the conclusions of the paper regarding the use of the urban space is the following. The response of the Ottoman authorities to petitions asking permission for the organization of charity concerts in open urban space, e.g. the parks, reveals that the urban space was stratified into areas where official ritual and representation was dominant on the one hand, and other spaces where alternative musical and cultural practices could be exercised on the other. The paper also shows that the central and local authorities dealt differently with the regularized and the spontaneous rituals. The monitoring of events like the Easter ritual and procession which took place every year was well organized and planned ahead and the outcome could almost be predicted depending on previous experience. Whereas, the Internal Ministry and the Police were hesitant in allowing spontaneous rituals like particular funeral masses whose emotional dynamics were not transparent.