The Nobel Foundation announced that it canceled its annual banquet in December for its award winners in Stockholm for the first time since 1956 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while retaining the announcement of rewards, as is customary in October.
But she kept the award ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. The foundation supervising the awards, which was founded by the Swedish inventor, explained in a statement that these ceremonies "will take place in various forms."
"It is a very special year, and each of us must make sacrifices and adapt to the new circumstances," said director of the Foundation, Lars Heinckenstein.
It is the first time since 1956 that the Nobel feast is not held. It usually collects in the Great Hall in Stockholm City Hall 1300 invitees with the winners and members of the Swedish royal family, a spokeswoman told AFP. This long dinner with very specific ceremonies is punctuated by the speeches' winners.
"The Nobel Foundation intends to keep the awards ceremonies in Oslo and Stockholm in new forms that take into account social estrangement and the inability of some or all of the winners to attend," the president of the foundation said in the statement.