The Nobel Foundation has reversed its decision to invite ambassadors from Russia and Belarus to this year’s Nobel awards ceremony in Stockholm after the invitation sparked anger.
In 2022, the Nobel Foundation, which organises the annual Nobel prize ceremony and banquet in Stockholm, decided not to invite the Russian and Belarusian ambassadors to the awards event because of the war in Ukraine.
It made the same decision regarding the Iranian envoy over the country’s crackdown on protests.
The Swedish foundation said on Thursday that it was returning to its previous practice of inviting ambassadors from all countries represented in Sweden. This sparked a wave of angry reactions, with several Swedish politicians saying they would boycott this year’s Nobel prize ceremony.
On Saturday the foundation said Thursday’s decision had been based on a belief “that it is important and right to reach out as widely as possible with the values and messages that the Nobel prize stands for”. It noted, however, that the strong reactions “completely overshadowed this message”.
“We, therefore, choose to repeat last year’s exception to regular practice – that is, to not invite the ambassadors of Russia, Belarus and Iran to the Nobel prize award ceremony in Stockholm.”
Last year, the Norwegian Nobel Institute still invited all ambassadors to the peace prize ceremony it organises in Oslo, and the foundation said this would be the case again.
The decision to once again invite the Russian and Belarusian representatives sparked ire in Sweden and abroad, Agence-France Presse reported.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko, wrote on Facebook that the foundation should support efforts to isolate Russia and Belarus as “millions of Ukrainians suffer from an unprovoked war and the Russian regime is not punished for its crimes”.
The Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, also said he disagreed with the foundation’s decision. “I would not have done it if I were handling invites to an award ceremony and I understand that it upsets many people in both Sweden and Ukraine,” he told AFP.
Several prominent Swedish politicians, including the leaders of the centre, green, left and liberal parties, said they would boycott the event over the Russian ambassador’s presence.
The glitzy event is held each year in Stockholm on 10 December, the anniversary of the death in 1896 of the award’s founder, Alfred Nobel, when laureates in the fields of medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and economics receive their awards from King Carl XVI Gustaf.
This year’s Nobel prize winners will be announced in early October. .
