This Weekend- Nobel Awards & Lucia Celebration

Lucia at Skansen. Photo: Marie Andersson

(Edit: Click here for 2012 information) Quite a busy weekend in Stockholm! Tomorrow evening (Saturday Dec. 10th) the Nobel Prize ceremony will be at the Konserthuset followed by the dinner at Stadshuset. Unfortunately there is not much for the tourist to see (besides on TV) as it is all invitation only. But what is good to know is that parts of the downtown area around the two venues will be cordoned off between 2pm and 7pm due to the fact that royalty, dignitaries and prize winners will be shuttling back and forth. There will also be a political demonstration or two. So... stick to walking or subways during this time!
Next Tuesday (Dec 13th) is St Lucia Day which is often celebrated with concerts in churches and other venues. These concerts start with a candlelit procession led by a girl (Lucia) wearing a wreath of candles in her hair. However, this weekend you can jump start on the festivities... at the Seglora church in Skansen park there will be a Lucia concert at 1pm and 2:30pm on Saturday and at 2pm and 3pm on Sunday. There will be additional Lucia concerts in Skansen's Ordenshuset on Sunday at noon and 2pm. Remember that Skansen also has a great Christmas Market open on both days between 10am and 4pm!

Seglora church, photo: Marie Andersson

Nobel Prize Ceremonies

This Friday, December 10th, is the date for the Nobel Prize Cermonies in Oslo (Peace Prize) and Stockholm (all other prizes). The winners have all arived in the city and this week is filled with seminars, lectures and press confernces. As a visitor to Stockholm during this time, you really can't take part in any of the festivities or events as they are generally invitation-only. The one event that is open for the public is the Nobel Concert in the Stockholms Konserthus on Wednesday evening. There are only a few seats still available. For more information and to book tickets click here. Otherwise it is good to be aware that there can be some traffic problems in the downtown area on Friday evening as police escorts take award winners, diplomats and the royal family from their hotels to the Konserthuset and then to the City Hall for the dinner.

If you want to get a little feel for the Nobel Awards and festivities, then I recommend visiting the Nobel Museum in the Old Town as well as City Hall where you can tour the beautiful halls where the famous dinner is served each year. At the City Hall you also have the restaurant Stadshuskällaren where you can actually try the dinners served to the award winners each year.
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Stockholm Trivia

This is the week when the Swedish Academy starts announcing the winners for the 2010 Nobel Prizes. First out are the Medicine, Physics, Chemistry and Literature Prizes... on Friday the Peace Prize winner will be announced followed by the Economics Prize on Monday.

Alfred Nobel, a Stockholm native, was a chemist, engineer and inventor. He had 355 different patents, but his most famous invention was undoubtably dynamite. It was his invention of dynamite, and the destruction is wreaked, that caused Nobel to be concerned about his legacy. So in his will he put aside the bulk of his estate (about $250 million) to create the Nobel Prizes. The nominations are kept secret and the winners are announced in the beginning of October. The award ceremony is held on December 10th (the anniversary of Nobel's death) in Stockholm, except for the Peace Prize which is awarded in Oslo (at the time of Nobel's death, Norway was in a personal union with Sweden). Besides the Nobel prize medal and the honor of being a Nobel Laureate, the winners are awarded 10 million SEK.

If you are interested in Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prizes, then I would recommend a visit to the Nobel Museum. It's located in the Old Town, right on the main square (Stortorget). The closest subway station is Gamla Stan (red and green lines), though it is an easy 10-15 minute walk from the Rival Hotel. Closed on Mondays, the entrance costs 70 SEK, 50 for students and seniors, free for children under 19. Free entrance, of course, with the Stockholm Card.