The Magic Week

In the first week of December, all roads lead to Oslo and Stockholm, where the year’s Nobel Laureates are swept up in a whirlwind of activities that culminates in the Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies and the Nobel Banquet. These memorable events are recounted here by the Laureates.


	An Unforgettable Rite of Passage "Nobody who has shared in them will ever forget them", said Seamus Heaney, Literature Laureate, in his Nobel Banquet speech at the Stockholm City Hall in 1995. Read his speech here.

	A Feeling of Unreality "It is as though I have been cast as an actor invited to take part in a production and not quite knowing his lines", was how Aaron Klug, 1982 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, described his initial reaction. Read his speech here.

	The Dream Land of the World Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Nobel Laureate in Physics 1991, pays tribute to Sweden in his Nobel Banquet speech. Read his speech here.

	He Carried His Speech for Four Years Not until 1974 did Alexandr Solzhenitsyn get an opportunity to come to Sweden to attend the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony. Listen to his Nobel Banquet speech (in Russian) or read a translation. Read or listen to the speech.

	A Fairy Tale Come True "I am dining with the King and Princesses in a golden hall, surrounded by the gracious ladies and gentlemen of their court" - read the Nobel Banquet speech of Russian-born Wassily Leontief, Economics Laureate in 1973. Read his speech.

	An Illuminated Tray of Sculptured Ice Cream "Suddenly, except for the candles on the tables, all the lights in the Great Blue Hall were extinguished" - read how Philip S. Hench, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, experienced the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony and the following Nobel Banquet at the 50th anniversary of the awarding of the Nobel Prize. Read his article.

	It Was a Once in a Lifetime Experience Physiology or Medicine Laureates Linda Buck and Richard Axel share some of their memories of the Nobel Day 2004 in a video interview. See the video.

	Lovely to Be in Stockholm The pleasures of being in Stockholm are shared here by Alan L. Hodgkin, Physiology or Medicine Laureate 1963, in his Nobel Banquet speech. Read his speech.

	Dancing at the City Hall After the solemn Nobel Prize Award Ceremony comes the Nobel Banquet, with music and dancing. Take a look at Literature Laureate Günter Grass's photo gallery. See the photos.