The Nobel Peace Prize celebrations are about to start in Oslo, Norway with a hectic three-day line-up for the IAEA and its Director General, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, who jointly won this year´s prize.
All eyes will be watching 10 December, when the Agency and Dr. ElBaradei are honoured with the Peace Prize from the Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in the presence of the King of Norway. The ceremony begins 1.00 p.m. GMT at Oslo City Hall. Check IAEA.org for Dr. ElBaradei´s Nobel Lecture, a log of events, photos from Oslo, and reactions from staff at the IAEA´s Vienna headquarters. A live webcast will be streamed from http://nobelprize.org.
The 10 December ceremony marks the day on which Alfred Nobel died in 1896. The Swedish scientist, who patented dynamite, left the bulk of his estate to a fund administered by the Nobel Foundation.
The prestigious million dollar prize was awarded to the IAEA and Dr. ElBaradei at a time when the threat of nuclear arms is again increasing, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement 7 October 2005. The Committee said the threat must be met through the broadest possible international cooperation. "In the nuclear non-proliferation regime, it is the IAEA which controls that nuclear energy is not misused for military purposes, and the Director General has stood out as an unafraid advocate of new measures to strengthen that regime," the statement said.
The Peace Prize festivities kick off 9 December with Dr. ElBaradei and Chair of the IAEA Board of Governors Ambassador Yukiya Amano (who is representing the Agency).
Activities range from torchlight processions and performances by school children, to a Nobel Banquet and press events. The celebrations culminate 11 December with a celebratory studded concert featuring a diverse line-up, from famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma, to British pop group SugarBabes. For more details see Story Rresources and the schedule of events below.
Events include:
9 December: 1.00 p.m. - Press Conference, with the Peace Prize Laureate at the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Oslo.
10 December: 1.00 p.m. - Peace Prize Ceremony at the Oslo City Hall. The Nobel Lectures in Peace will be given during the Ceremony.
5.00 p.m. - CNN program. Mohamed ElBaradei is interviewed by Jonathan Mann.
11 December: The Peace Prize Performance of the Oslo Schools is a collaboration between the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Oslo School authority. Oslo schools create a performance with different peace-related themes.
8:00 p.m. - Nobel Peace Prize Concert. Each year The Norwegian Nobel Committee hosts a concert in honour of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. This takes place in Oslo Spektrum.