Heidi Every year on December 10, the Nobel Prize is awarded in Stockholm (except for the Nobel Peace Prize awarded in Oslo). These prices make us think Alfred Nobel is a benefactor. It was ever different. When Alfred Nobel’s brother died and the newspaper found out that Alfred himself was dead, the death reports were not really positive about the person Alfred Nobel. This grabbed Alfred so that he decided to accommodate his legacy in a special fund. It is from this fund that Nobel Prizes are still being financed.
Nobel Prizes
There are 6 different Nobel prizes: for physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, economics and the Nobel Peace Prize. The first 5 are awarded in Stockholm, the last one in Oslo. Alfred Nobel would have a specific reason why there was never a Nobel Prize for mathematics. Sofie Hess was his great love but she got pregnant by someone else. That other man would have been a mathematician.
The prize for economics was not in Nobel’s will, but was added in 1969 after a collaboration between the National Bank of Sweden and the Nobel Foundation, on the occasion of the National Bank’s 300th anniversary. It is therefore not an official noble prize. Since December 1901 the 5 other prizes have been awarded on December 10, the death date of A. Nobel. Each prize is awarded by another institute. The Swedish Academy does this for the literature, the Karolinska Institute is responsible for the prize of medicine, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences may issue the one for physics and chemistry and the Norwegian Nobel Committee for peace.
To win the Nobel Prize you must live at the time of the announcement. The Nobel laureate receives a diploma, money (the amount varies but is about 1 million euros) and a medal. In the time of the Cold War, the medals of the Russian and American Nobel Prize winner were accidentally switched. The Swedish embassy had to negotiate for 4 years to get the right medal with the right person.
The Nobel Prize ceremony
Apart from the price for peace, all Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, in the blue building at Hötorget, Konserthuset. After the prize ceremony, the company moves to Stockholm City Hall. In the Blue Room, 1350 guests including 250 students and the royal family can join a banquet. The dance hall is in the Golden Room. Did you know that you can also taste an Nobel menu? The flowers in the halls are always donated by San Remo where Nobel spent his last year of life. The whole ceremony and the banquet is broadcasted live on Swedish television.
Want to know more about Alfred Nobel? In Stockholm, you can visit a lot of places that link to Nobel.
