The Nobel Banquet ( sv, Nobelfesten) is an annual banquet held on 10 December in the

Blue Hall The Blue Hall ( sv, Blå hallen) is the main hall of the Stockholm City Hall best known as the banquet hall for the annual Nobel Banquet, and also used for state visits, student balls, jubilees and other large events. Description The Hall is lon ...

Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall ( sv, Stockholms stadshus, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands ...

, after the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secula ...

. At the banquet, for which a formal dress code exists, a multi-course dinner is served and entertainment provided. After the dinner, a dance is held in the Golden Hall. The event is broadcast live on

Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national ...

and

Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...

, and abroad with generally high ratings.

History

The first banquet, for 113 male guests, was held in 1901 and until 1923 it was known as the Nobel Dinner ( sv, Nobelmiddagen). Until 1930 the banquet was held in Vinterträdgården at Stockholm's Grand Hôtel Royal, and it has also been held in the Golden Hall of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is bes ...

(Svenska Akademien). The banquet hosts 1,300 guests (including the

Swedish Royal Family The Swedish royal family ( sv, Svenska kungafamiljen) since 1818 has consisted of members of the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, closely related to the King of Sweden. Today those who are recognized by the government are entitled to royal ti ...

) and 200 students. Its host, the chair of the

Nobel Foundation The Nobel Foundation ( sv, Nobelstiftelsen) is a private institution founded on 29 June 1900 to manage the finances and administration of the Nobel Prizes. The foundation is based on the last will of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. I ...

, is always seated at the

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

table.

During the dinner (usually four hours long) each Nobel Prize recipient makes a speech, often lighthearted in character. There are two ceremonial toasts: the

Loyal toast A loyal toast is a salute given to the sovereign monarch or head of state of the country in which a formal gathering is being given, or by expatriates of that country, whether or not the particular head of state is present. It is usually a mat ...

to the Swedish monarch and the other, made by the monarch, in memory of

Alfred Nobel Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( , ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and philanthropist. He is best known for having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prize, though he al ...

. The speeches and toasts are presented by the banquet's toastmaster, traditionally a Swedish student who holds the job for four years. Service during the banquet is provided by

waiting staff Waiting staff (British English), waitstaff (North American English), waiters (male) / waitresses (female), or servers (North American English), are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attendi ...

, chefs, and others who are trained for several weeks. Since the 1970s, flowers for the banquet have been provided by the Italian city of

Sanremo Sanremo (; lij, Sanrémmo(ro) or , ) or San Remo is a city and comune on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination on the Italian Rivie ...

(where Nobel lived during his final years). They are grown in the

province of Imperia The Province of Imperia ( it, Provincia di Imperia, french: Province d'Imperia, Ligurian: ''Provinsa d’Imperia'') is a mountainous and hilly province, in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between France to the north and the west, and the L ...

in the

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

region of Italy. In late July 2020, it was revealed that the banquet would be cancelled for that year due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

pandemic. This was the first time the banquet was cancelled since 1956. In September 2021, it was announced that the banquet of 2021 will also be postponed, again due to the pandemic. In 2022, the banquet will return after a two-year break. For 2022, the ambassadors to Sweden from Belarus, Russia and Iran would not be invited to join the banquet.

Dress code

The dinner is a formal affair, and for men the

dress code A dress code is a set of rules, often written, with regard to what clothing groups of people must wear. Dress codes are created out of social perceptions and norms, and vary based on purpose, circumstances, and occasions. Different societies a ...

white tie White tie, also called full evening dress or a dress suit, is the most formal in traditional evening western dress codes. For men, it consists of a black tail coat (alternatively referred to as a dress coat, usually by tailors) worn over a wh ...

, and

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

and

decorations Decoration may refer to: * Decorative arts * A house painter and decorator's craft * An act or object intended to increase the beauty of a person, room, etc. * An award that is a token of recognition to the recipient intended for wearing Other ...

should be worn.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Annual events in Sweden Ceremonies in Sweden Culture in Stockholm December events Dining events Events in Stockholm High society (social class) Recurring events established in 1901 Winter events in Sweden Balls (dance party)

History

Dress code

See also

References

External links