Nobel Prize Awards Ceremony 2009

The awards ceremony for the 2009 Nobel Prize Awards took place at the Stockholm Concert Hall last night, Thursday December 10th. The awards were presented by HM King Carl XVI Gustaf, as he does each year. The entire Swedish Royal Family was also in attendance.

Although meant to begin at 16:30 local time, the Swedish royals were running a little behind schedule, and as such, the ceremony was delayed a few minutes. Dressed to the nines (the women in light green, deep purple and emerald green; the men in tuxedoes), they quickly took their seats on the stage before the ceremony began.

The Chairman of the Board of the Nobel Foundation, Dr Marcus Storch, addressed the large crowd; speaking of the past and future of the Nobel Prizes. Speaking of a recent open-letter in the the New Scientist which questioned the relevance of the Nobel Prizes in the 21st century, Dr Storch said the opinions brought up in the letter (including the suggestion of the establishment of two new Nobel Prizes – one for Global Environment and Health and one for Life Sciences, emphasising Neuroscience) had “provided food for thought about the role of Nobel Prize work in relation to these important developmental trends.”

King Carl XVI Gustaf then presented each of the twelve Nobel 2009 laureates, a list of which can be found here, with their Nobel diplomas and medals. This year’s twelve laureates brings the number of overall laureates to 822 (several of these individuals have received a Nobel more than once), with forty women awarded a Nobel since 1901.

A gala banquet was then held at the Stockholm City Hall, for approximately 1,300 guests. This year’s Nobel was also the debut Nobel of Princess Madeleine’s fiancé, Jonas Bergström, who spent the ceremony with Princess Christina in the audience and then with Countess Bettina Bernadotte at the banquet.

A second dinner, hosted by HM the King, honouring the 2009 laureates will be held this evening at the Royal Palace of Stockholm.

Click here to view the Nobel Prize 2009 thread.

Filed under Sweden
Tagged Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Jonas Bergström, Nobel Prize, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Princess Christina of the Netherlands, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden.