Nobel Prize banquet cancelled for first time since 1956 due to COVID-19

Nobel Prize banquet cancelled for first time since 1956 due to COVID-19

The last time the Nobel Prize banquet was cancelled was in the year 1956, in protest of Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary. However, this year it will not go ahead due to fears over coronavirus

The Nobel Prize banquet is organised on December 10 every year but stands cancelled this year in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic

The Nobel Prize banquet has been annulled for the first time since 1956 in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Although winners for 2020 will be announced, the event that traditionally marks the conclusion of the Nobel week will not be held this year.

The banquet is organised on December 10 every year and usually hosts over 1,300 guests comprising the prize winners and Swedish royal family.

The event is held in the Swedish capital Stockholm where the winners are invited for talks and prize ceremony.

The last time it was cancelled was in the year 1956, in protest of Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary. The event was also annulled during World War One and Two. However, this year it will not go ahead due to fears over coronavirus.

Meanwhile, all announcements, for the first time, will be streamed live on nobelprize.org this year.

"There are two problems. You cannot gather that many people next to each other. And it is uncertain whether people can travel to Sweden to the extent they want," Nobel Foundation Chairman Lars Heikensten told Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, Reuters reported.

The prizes for achievements in science, literature, and peace were created and funded in the will of Swedish dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel and have been awarded since 1901.