Nobel Laureates arriving in Stockholm

For the 2012 Nobel Laureates, there have been two months of limelight since the announcements in October. Nine Laureates are now arriving in Stockholm, where they will be major participants and guests of honour during a week filled with activities, culminating in the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony and the Nobel Banquet on December 10. The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded on the same day in Oslo.

The Nobel Week will begin on December 6 with a visit to the Nobel Museum in Stockholm’s Old Town. On the following days, the Laureates will give press conferences and hold their Nobel Lectures. They will also attend receptions and dinners organised by the Nobel Prize-awarding institutions.

On December 8, the Laureates can enjoy the 2012 Nobel Prize Concert. This year’s conductor is Maestro Christoph Eschenbach, and the soloist is the young violinist Ray Chen.  

December 9 marks the premiere of a new event within the framework of the official Nobel Week programme – the Nobel Week Dialogue. The purpose of this full-day seminar is to promote a broader dialogue between scientific researchers and society. Because 50 years have passed since the discovery of DNA was rewarded with a Nobel Prize, the theme of the 2012 event will be DNA – The Genetic Revolution and its Impact on Society. Nobel Laureate James Watson, who shared the 1962 prize with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, will participate as a guest of honour. Nobel Media AB is the organiser of this event.

The Nobel Day, December 10, will begin with the traditional Nobel Prize Award Ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall, where the Laureates will be presented in speeches by members of the respective Nobel Committees. The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Daniel Blendulf, will provide musical interludes. This year’s soloist is clarinettist Emil Jonason. In charge of flower arrangements in the Concert Hall will be Helén Magnusson of Hässelby Blommor.

At the subsequent Nobel Banquet at the Stockholm City Hall, guests will enjoy the 2012 Nobel menu and a divertissement created and performed by Cirkus Cirkör under the direction of Tilde Björfors. Gunnar Kaj is in charge of the floral arrangements at the City Hall.

In charge of composing this year’s menu are Andreas Hedlund (2002 Swedish Chef of the Year) along with confectioners Conrad Tyrsén (2009 Swedish Confectioner of the Year) and Ted Johansson of Dessert & Choklad Stockholm. In charge of presenting the Banquet is Stadshusrestauranger (City Hall Restaurants) through General Manager Egon Persson, Chef de Cuisine Gunnar Eriksson and CEO Maria Stridh. Gastronomic advisors to the Nobel Foundation are Fredrik Eriksson, Långbro Värdshus, Artistic Leader of Restaurangakademien; and Gert Klötzke, Professor of Gastronomy at Umeå University.

The official Nobel Week programme will conclude on December 12 with individual visits by the Laureates to the Nobel Foundation. There they will discuss the details concerning the transfer of their prize money and retrieve their medals and diplomas, which will have been displayed in the Golden Hall of the Stockholm City Hall during the Nobel Banquet. 

Follow the Nobel Week on Nobelprize.org
All Nobel Lectures will be webcast live on Nobelprize.org, the official website of the Nobel Foundation, and will later be available there in video-on-demand format. The Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies in Oslo and Stockholm will be webcast live on Nobelprize.org at 13.00 and 16.30, respectively, on December 10. During the Nobel Week, Nobel Media will conduct interviews with the Laureates, which will be published in video-on-demand format on Nobelprize.org at a later time.

The television programme Nobel Minds, a co-production of Sveriges Television and BBC World on behalf of Nobel Media, will also be available on Nobelprize.org later. In this year’s edition of Nobel Minds, which will be videotaped during the Nobel Week, the discussion will be moderated by Zeinab Badawi of the BBC.

Material that will be published on Nobelprize.org (times in CET)
Detailed information memo on the Nobel Week for the press: Dec. 5, 10.00
Seating chart for the Table of Honour at the Nobel Banquet: Dec. 9, 14.00
Presentation speeches at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony: Dec. 10, 16.30
The menu from the Nobel Banquet: Dec. 10, 19.00
The Laureates’ speeches of thanks at the Banquet: Dec. 10, about 23.00


Press conferences during the 2012 Nobel Week

December 6, 12.00, at the Swedish Academy, for the Laureate in Literature. For information: http://www.svenskaakademien.se/en

December 6, 14.30, at the Nobel Forum, Karolinska Institutet, for the Laureates in Physiology or Medicine. For information: http://www.nobelprizemedicine.org

December 7, 13.00, at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, for the Laureates in Physics, Chemistry and Economic Sciences. For information: http://www.kva.se/en/pressroom

December 11, 10.15, a press conference will be arranged by the Japanese Embassy for the Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Professor Yamanaka, in Japanese language at IVA (Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences), Grev Turegatan 16, Wenström Hall. Contact: Shoichi Ueda or Hitomi Saito, phone: +46 8 579 353 00, nobel.press@st.mofa.go.jp

Press Centre for Foreign Media
During the Nobel Week, the International Press Centre of the MFA will be available to foreign media representatives. The Press Centre is equipped with working areas and technical facilities, including Internet and ISDN. The Press Centre is located in central Stockholm, address: Fredsgatan 6.

Information for journalists from international print and online media who have been allocated a ticket to the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony, the Nobel Banquet or the Nobel Lecture in Literature via the Nobel Foundation:
How to get your entrance card
The entrance card can be picked up at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs International Press Centre, Street address: Fredsgatan 6. The Nobel Banquet fee is SEK 2 500. The fee can be paid at the MFA Press Centre in cash or by credit card at the Nobel Desk at Grand Hôtel where they will give you a receipt to bring to the MFA Press Centre.

Distribution of tickets:
Thursday 6 December 09.00 - 17.00
Friday 7 December 09.00 - 17.00
Monday 10 December 08.00 - 14.00
Regular opening hours are Monday to Friday 08.00 - 18.00
Contact at the MFA Press Centre:
Ms Lena Jern, lena.jern@foreign.ministry.se, Phone: +46 8 405 38 22

For further information on the Nobel Week programme and services for the media, please visit the Press Room for the Nobel Foundation and Nobel Media at Nobelprize.org: http://www.nobelprize.org/press/

Contact: Annika Pontikis, Public Relations Manager, Nobel Foundation
E-mail: annika.pontikis@nobel.se, tel: +46 8 663 14 70 

 © The Nobel Foundation 2012. Nobel Prize®, Nobelprize.org®, Nobel Media®, Nobel Museum®, Nobel Prize Concert® and the Nobel Prize® medal design are registered trademarks of the Nobel Foundation.