The Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry and the Prize in Economic Sciences will soon be announced
The Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry will be announced next week, followed by the Prize in Economic Sciences, at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. Due to the current pandemic, the format of the press conference will be somewhat changed.
There will be none of the crowding that is otherwise typical for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences when the announcements are made. This year, only around 20 journalists have been granted accreditation that allows access to the Session Hall, where the Prizes are announced. Around the same number will be spread out in other rooms in the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ large premises at Lilla Frescativägen 4A in Stockholm.
Unfortunately, journalists who have not yet been informed of whether they will be granted a place will not be able to attend. They are, however, welcome to book interviews via a phone or videolink (please contact the press secretary as soon as possible if you are interested in this option). The live stream at www.kva.se or www.nobelprize.org is open for everyone to watch and no registration is necessary.
Prize-giving on home ground
Nor will the Nobel Week be the same as usual. We cannot count on any Laureates coming to Stockholm, so the plan is that the prizes will be awarded in the Laureates’ home countries, probably with the help of Swedish embassies and the Laureates’ universities.
The Nobel Lectures will be conducted digitally, and planning for this is underway. We also hope to offer some upper-secondary schools a “digital visit” from our Nobel and Economic Sciences’ Laureates in December.
As the Nobel Foundation has already announced, this year’s Nobel Banquet has been cancelled. Instead, the Laureates are welcome to the 2021 Nobel Banquet, which we hope will be possible to hold in the traditional manner.
Decision-making meeting on the same day
The decision-making meeting at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, at which the final decision to award the Noble Prize is made, will be held as usual, on the same day the Laureates are announced. However, to avoid the risk of infection we will hold several parallel meetings that are spread out in different rooms and collect the votes.
“This year has truly demonstrated the importance of science, and we are looking forward to being able to tell you about 2020’s Nobel and Economic Sciences’ Laureates. Thanks to the hard work of the members of the Prize Committees and the Academy’s talented staff, work has thus far gone very well, despite the special challenges we have faced,” says the secretary general of the Academy of Sciences, Göran K. Hansson.
Announcement dates:
Nobel Prize in Physics, 6 October, approx. 11.45
Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 7 October, approx. 11.45
Prize in Economic Sciences, 12 October, approx. 11.45
Contact:
Göran K. Hansson, Secretary General at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
goran.hansson@kva.se
+46 (0)70 878 87 38
Press contact:
Eva Nevelius, Press Secretary at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
eva.nevelius@kva.se
+46 (0)70 878 67 63