Despite the fact that in Nobel’s will the nomination is called “in physiology or medicine,” most of the prizes in recent years (if not decades!) have been devoted to molecular biology rather than to medicine as such. Of course, the first is directly related to the second, but still the road from the description of the molecular mechanism to treatment is not short. It is all the more pleasant to learn that in 2010 the prize was awarded to the British Robert Edwards precisely for medical achievements, and so undeniable that one can say without exaggeration: about four million people owe the very fact of their existence to these achievements (or to Edwards himself?).
It no longer surprises anyone that the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is almost always awarded not for medicine as such, but for discoveries in the field of molecular biology, which only decades later will be translated into something significant for ordinary hospital patients and clinic visitors. For example, in 2009 the prize was awarded for the study of the structure of telomeres and the enzyme telomerase, a year earlier - for virological research, and in 2007 the technology of “knockout” mice was noted. Undoubtedly, all these discoveries significantly influenced the appearance of modern biomedical science, but in themselves they do not relate to medicine. Perhaps only the 2005 prize can be classified as purely medical - it was awarded “for the discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease."
In 2010, the Nobel Prize was awarded for 100% medical work - in vitro fertilization (in English it is called in vitro-fertilization). The only laureate was the “founding father” of this industry - Briton Robert Edwards ( Robert G. Edwards), dealing with the treatment of infertility and artificial insemination since the 1950s. Edwards's finest hour came on July 25, 1978, when, after decades of work, the first "test tube baby" was born - Louise Brown, who became the head of a string of four million people whose birth was made possible thanks to the achievements of fundamental science.
Infertility - grief for spouses
More than 10% of married couples in the world are infertile. For most of them, this is a huge disappointment and the cause of psychological trauma and depression for life. In the past, medicine had little to offer such people - except for "witchcraft", spells and other second-rate services. Nowadays, the situation has changed dramatically - in vitro fertilization (IVF) allows us to correct the situation when the egg and sperm are unable to unite or even simply meet inside the body without outside help.
The fruits of fundamental research
British physiologist Robert Edwards began studying reproductive biology in the 1950s, and even then he realized that fertilization outside the body would be a way to begin to combat infertility. By that time, artificial insemination had already been demonstrated in rabbits, and Edwards decided to tackle a similar problem in humans.
This task has surpassed the previous one many times in complexity: the life cycle of human and rabbit eggs is radically different. For more than a decade, Edwards and a number of his colleagues have been studying the maturation of the egg, the influence of sex hormones on this process and the selection of conditions and the appropriate moment in time when the egg could be fertilized in vitro - but for artificial insemination, sperm must be specially “activated” "
In 1969, it seemed that success was close - in vitro fertilization occurred. However, the zygote (fertilized egg) divided only once, and no further development occurred. Edwards suggested that development would continue if an egg that had matured in the ovary was taken for artificial insemination - at a stage preceding ovulation. However, he had no idea how to get such a cell without harming the woman’s health.
From experiment to clinical practice
The solution was suggested by Patrick Steptoe ( Patrick Steptoe), a British gynecologist who at that time was “fighting” introducing laparoscopy into medical practice - a method that allows one to examine the ovaries using a flexible optical instrument. Steptoe adapted a laparoscope to remove a maturing egg from the ovary in order to transfer it to a nutrient medium for the purpose of artificial insemination. The resulting zygote has already divided three or four times and reached the stage of eight (or 16) blastomeres (see title picture).
At this moment, fundamental research generated a significant resonance in society, not least thanks to the exhortations of religious leaders. The question of the ethics of artificial insemination has been raised, just as the Christian acceptability of stem cells has recently been frantically debated. As a result, the promising work of Edwards and Steptoe did not receive financial support from the UK Medical Research Council - officials were afraid to finance such a risky and ethically controversial (as it seemed then) project. However, the work did not stop: private sponsors came to the rescue.
Test tube baby
Further research with private financial support showed that stable development of the embryo and its successful implantation into the uterine wall are possible if the entire procedure is in maximum compliance with the woman’s natural menstrual cycle - only in this case it was possible to achieve a normal pregnancy. However, until researchers realized that the hormonal therapy used to induce oocyte maturation “prevents” the implanted embryos from implanting into the uterine lining, more than a hundred attempts were made, ending in miscarriages. The first almost successful pregnancy (1976), when implantation was carried out after the cessation of hormonal therapy and according to the menstrual cycle, turned out to be ectopic and had to be interrupted. In 1977, Leslie and John Brown came to the clinic, by that time they had been unsuccessfully trying to have a child for nine years.
After the IVF procedure, the fertilized egg at the 8-cell stage (these three divisions occur within 2.5 days after artificial insemination) was “returned” to Mrs. Brown. Their daughter, Louise Brown, was born on schedule - July 25, 1978 - by Caesarean section. The researchers reported their stunning success in one of the most famous medical journals - The Lancet(Fig. 1) . By the way, just recently an article was published that analyzed in detail the motives for the Medical Research Council's refusal to fund Edwards and actually offered him a belated apology.
Figure 1. Robert Edwards ( left) on the 30th anniversary of her first “test tube baby” - Louise Brown ( on right). The best possible evidence of the safety and effectiveness of Edwards' in vitro fertilization technique is Cameron, Louise's son, who was born healthy and without the help of artificial insemination technology. In the center is Louise's mother, Leslie Brown.
A new era has begun: artificial insemination has moved from the realm of unrealistic dreams to the realm of practical medicine.
IVF is sweeping the world
Inspired by their success, Edwards and Steptoe opened the world's first IVF clinic, Bourne Hall in Cambridge, where Steptoe was chief physician until his death in 1988, and Edwards was head of research until he retired. (Apparently, Steptoe did not share the Nobel prize with Edwards only for the reason that he did not live to see this moment: according to Nobel’s terms, the prize is not awarded posthumously.)
Robert Edwards not only invented, but throughout his life he defended the method of artificial insemination from the attacks of conservatives and religious trolls, and also honorably defended his scientific views in front of the ignorant and crowds of doubters.
Currently, the IVF technique (Fig. 2) has become widespread throughout the world, and, compared to the original version, has been significantly improved. In particular, egg retrieval is no longer performed using a laparoscope - it has been replaced by a more accurate and safe ultrasound method, which also makes it possible to assess the maturation of eggs. A technique for inducing oocyte maturation has been developed in vitro- something that could not be achieved in 1969, and which is important for women with impaired hormonal regulation or patients after chemotherapy who are at risk of losing the pool of oocytes. Another important achievement is cytoplasmic sperm injection, which makes it possible to bypass many types of male infertility. To reduce the risk of having children with birth defects, preimplantation genetic diagnostics began to be used.
Figure 2. IVF principles developed by Edwards. For artificial insemination, using a laparoscope (or more modern instruments), a pre-ovulatory egg is selected, “inhibited” at the metaphase stage of the second meiotic division. Next, the egg is placed on a nutrient medium and sperm is added, which, thanks to the special properties of the medium, acquires the “activity” necessary for fertilization. Interaction with sperm triggers the final stage of meiosis in the egg, which leads to the formation of two haploid sets of chromosomes, one of which will merge with the haploid set of sperm, and the second will degrade. Fertilization moves the egg to the zygote stage, which begins to divide and undergoes 3 or 4 divisions, reaching the stage of 8 or 16 blastomeres. The embryo at the 8-cell stage (this is 2.5 days from the moment of fertilization) is returned to the uterus using a needle, where it continues to develop to the blastula stage, after which it is implanted into the mucous wall called endometrium; the endometrium responds by producing placenta. Further development of the fetus, up to delivery, occurs here.
IVF is a fairly effective and safe procedure that has allowed millions of couples to experience the happiness of having children. A small list of possible complications is headed by the high frequency of multiple pregnancies (this occurs due to the fact that several embryos are placed in the uterus at once - just to be “sure”) and premature birth (but this is more likely a problem of late-parous women or a consequence of the same reason that caused infertility). In general, "test tube babies" are as healthy as the rest - this is best confirmed by the fact that Louise Brown and many of her "comrades" have their own healthy children, born the old fashioned way.
On Wednesday, December 10, after the Nobel Prize presentation, a gala dinner will be held in the Blue Hall of Stockholm City Hall.
The Nobel Committee considers each candidate invited to the reception separately. Out of tens of thousands of applicants, only 1,500 people receive this honor.
Three years ago, Mona Sahlin, leader of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Sweden, chose a Bruce Springsteen concert over dinner, shocking all of Sweden. But a holy place is never empty: in case of no-show or illness of the main guest, there is “list No. 2”.
Strictly according to protocol
Nobel Prize laureates arrive a few days before the celebration and are accommodated in the Grand Hotel, which is opposite the royal palace. Everyone has an attaché assigned by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On the morning of December 10, there is the traditional laying of a wreath on the grave of Alfred Nobel, after which everyone goes to the dress rehearsal for presenting the awards, where the laureates will have to remember, for example, which side to go up to the stage, how many steps to retreat from the king after receiving the award.
The ceremony is calculated down to seconds. One by one, the laureates ascend to the stage of the Stockholm Philharmonic to receive a check, a gold medal and a diploma from the hands of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. After each presentation there is a short musical break performed by the Royal Swedish Philharmonic Orchestra. The works have been carefully selected.
Each laureate has the right to take 16 guests - relatives or colleagues - to the banquet. By the way, the evening is always attended by... students.
“This year 180 were invited,” explained the editors of AiF. Europe" in the press center of the Nobel Committee. - These invitations are played out: you need to buy a lottery ticket. Students - citizens of any country who study at one of the Swedish universities - can participate in the draw.
A Chef's Nightmare
The “Banquet of Banquets,” as it is called in Sweden, begins. From the foyer in front of the Blue Hall there is a breathtaking view of luxuriously laid tables and breathtaking flower arrangements.
Flowers arrive a week before the celebration. About 20 containers are delivered from Italy - with roses, gerberas, carnations, mimosas, orchids, lilies... This is a gift from the city of San Remo, where Alfred Nobel spent his last years.
He called his Italian villa Mio Nido - “my nest.”
After the celebration, bouquets and compositions are sent to hospitals and nursing homes.
Of course, the dinner menu is kept in the strictest confidence. Culinary specialists who are laureates of the title “Chef of the Year” take part in its development. In October, three menu options are tasted by members of the Nobel Committee, who ultimately decide what will be served.
Naturally, the organizers take into account all possible nuances: someone is a vegetarian, another needs kosher food, a third is allergic, a fourth drinks only non-alcoholic wines...
Chef of the 2005 Nobel dinner Marcus Ojalau remembers it as the highlight of his life. Being the chef at this banquet is for a chef what the Nobel Prize is for a scientist. “One of the main requirements was a “Scandinavian menu,” says Marcus Ojalau, “and, of course, you cannot use dishes from the king’s dinner, which he hosts in honor of the laureates at his castle on December 11th. The main nightmare for a chef is “hot food”. For banquets of this level, food cannot be heated. He only has about 20 minutes."
On the morning of December 10, a “table specialist” with a ruler walks along the rows that have just been arranged according to a pattern known to him and measures the distance to the nearest centimeter...
200 waiters have been training for a week. You cannot make a single extra step or movement: everything is calibrated and timed. Senior waiters have conductor's batons and stopwatches. On special tablets there are drawings similar to diagrams of combat operations, with arrows indicating the location of “enemy troops” and indicating the start time and duration of “attacks”. The distance from each plate to the glass, from one table to another - everything is taken into account. For example, exactly three minutes after the first waiter appears at the door are allotted for the distribution of the Nobel Prize dessert - ice cream.
I said "physics"!
Next to the queen, according to tradition, sits the oldest (if there are several) laureate in the field of physics. In the text of Alfred Nobel's will, physics comes first, then chemistry, medicine, literature, and finally, promoting peace throughout the world. The laureates are ranked according to this “table of ranks”.
“We will never seat, for example, a guest from Russia who does not speak English next to someone who does not know Russian. A chemist is unlikely to be at the same table with a literary scholar, and so on,” Gunilla Lagerfeld, a specialist at the Nobel Committee for the arrangement of guests, told AiF.
By the way, one day the Nobel Committee received a letter of gratitude from a banquet guest. She was seated between two professors, one of whom she later married.
Invitees must be seated at 18.45. At 19.00, the guests of honor, led by the king and queen, descend the stairs to the Blue Hall. The king leads the arm of the Nobel laureate, if there is one, or the wife of the laureate in physics. The Chairman of the Nobel Committee accompanies the Queen.
At 19.05 a toast is made to His Majesty, the second toast is in memory of Alfred Nobel. Then the largest organ in Scandinavia (10,271 pipes) sounds.
At 22.15 the Swedish king gives the signal for the start of dancing in the Golden Hall of the Town Hall. At 1.30 the guests leave. So far there has not been a single case of change in this schedule.
Worked on the material:
Svetlana DYACHKOVA (Sweden), Margarita STEWART (Great Britain), Victoria GREGULDO (Italy)
This year the Nobel Prize ceremony will be held for the 113th time. All laureates arrive in Stockholm a little in advance and always stay in the Grand Hotel, which is opposite the Royal Palace.
The Nobel Prize banquet is held annually in the Blue Hall of Stockholm City Hall, where 1,300 guests gather, including members of the royal family, laureates, their immediate family and colleagues (a laureate can invite up to 16 guests in total), influential scientists and artists. The banquet is always attended by students from Swedish universities, who can simply win a “lucky ticket” by taking part in a special lottery.
The Nobel banquet is not just a dinner, it is a whole ritual in which everything is orderly and calculated down to the minute. The waiters begin to train and prepare the hall a few days before the celebration; the hall is decorated with hundreds of flowers brought from San Remo, where Alfred Nobel died.
Working at a Nobel dinner is a real honor and a dream come true for Swedish waiters. Therefore, there are often cases of nervous breakdowns right before the banquet itself; moreover, a couple of years ago an ambulance was even called to the town hall for one of the waiters. It’s good that there is always a staff reserve for such cases.
Rehearsals before a banquet are simply necessary for waiters, because at a dinner you need to serve dishes to 1,300 guests in just two minutes! There is an indulgence only for ice cream, which takes three whole minutes to take away.
Every year, a special porcelain service, ordered for the 90th anniversary of the award, is used for the banquet. Each place is prepared for about 5 hours: measure the distance from the plate to the glasses, etc. Each person present on the table has four plates and glasses, three forks, two knives, a spoon and a coffee cup.
It’s funny that despite the solemnity, the hall is very crowded, and each guest is given a seat of only 60 cm! This is how they have dinner at the town hall every year, shoulder to shoulder.
Traditionally, the royal family and laureates descend into the Blue Hall along the famous long staircase. The already exciting moment is further complicated by the fact that when descending you need to look not at your feet, but forward, at the engraved star on the wall. Many find this “test” difficult, and laureate in economics Alvin Roth even tripped and almost fell in 2012.
One of the most important parts of the gala event - the menu - is developed, starting in May, by the best chefs in Sweden and is kept in the strictest confidence. Many nuances are taken into account, for example, such as religious beliefs, because prizes are awarded to people of completely different nationalities and religions. In September, a secret tasting of the menu takes place, where the final version is determined.
The menu, which changes every year, always represents Scandinavian cuisine and often includes salmon, shrimp and game. For example, in 2012, for dinner, the laureates were served marinated fish with caviar, cauliflower and mayonnaise, fried pheasant with chanterelles, mashed potatoes and pears in wine sauce, and for dessert, according to established tradition, ice cream, this time cherry with pistachios.
Interestingly, every tourist also has the opportunity to enjoy the Nobel menu from different years and feel like a prize winner. The Stadshuskällaren ("Town Hall Cellar") restaurant, located directly in the town hall itself, serves an identical banquet menu from previous years.
There you can order a menu from any year, starting from 1901! In order to try what the laureates and the Swedish royal family ate over the years, you must pre-book a banquet for at least 10 people. The 2014 menu, which will be available after the banquet, can be served for one or more people. The price for the 2013 dinner is SEK 1,695, including wine and drinks.
The “timetable” of the banquet, as already mentioned, is calculated down to minutes. It starts at exactly 19:00, at 19:05 - the first toast is for the royal family (there are only two official toasts, the second is in memory of Alfred Nobel), then the organ sounds.
At 22:15 the King of Sweden gives the signal for the end of dinner and the start of dancing in the Golden Hall of the Town Hall. As a rule, no one leaves before one in the morning.
Nobel Banquet
The Nobel Banquet is an integral part of the Nobel Week celebrations. The first gala dinner took place on December 10, 1901, the day the first Nobel Prizes were awarded. It was attended by 113 men, some of whom were with their companions. Over time, interest in the Nobel Prize increased, and accordingly, the number of invited guests grew. First up to 150, then up to 350, and soon this figure reached 1000 people.
The first 29 Nobel banquets took place in the Hall of Mirrors at the Stockholm Grand Hotel. Then, due to the increase in the number of guests, the celebration location was moved to the Golden Hall of Stockholm City Hall. And since 1974, the banquet has been held in the Blue Hall of Stockholm City Hall.
Only the most famous chefs, as well as culinary specialists from the City Hall Cellar restaurant, which operates in the city municipality building, take part in the development of the menu. These professionals must provide three menu options by the beginning of autumn, which are tasted by members of the Nobel Committee, who make a final verdict on what the distinguished guests will feast on. And no less than 1,300 guests are invited, including the royal family, members of the Academy, diplomats, businessmen, about 250 talented students who have the prospect of becoming Nobel laureates in the future. All guests must wear tailcoats and evening dresses. The menu of the gala banquet is kept in the strictest confidence until the festive evening, and only the dessert remains unchanged for many years - ice cream.
The preparations for a fancy dinner are expensive and very elaborate. There are no small details in them - everything is important, the organizers need to keep track of everything. Tables are placed with millimeter precision. At the beginning of the 20th century, tables were arranged in a horseshoe shape, but as the number of guests has increased significantly, today 65 long tables are used, the total length of which is almost half a kilometer.
Each Nobel Banquet has an original and unique theme. This is reflected in the decorations and entertainment throughout the evening. The hall is decorated with 23,000 flowers, specially brought from the sunny Italian town of San Remo, where Alfred Nobel spent the last years of his life. The most popular are lilies, orchids, gladioli and roses. 30 people are involved in serving. The banquet service was made in 1991 as a special order for the 90th anniversary of the Nobel Prize and cost the organizers a fabulous sum - $1,600,000. This unique set includes 9,450 knives and forks, 9,550 plates, 6,750 glasses, and one cup used by Princess Liliana. All dishes are decorated with the symbolic colors of the Swedish Empire - blue, gold and green. Tablecloths are also made to special order. On the corner of each of them is a portrait of Alfred Nobel.
On December 10, at exactly 19-00, the Nobel Prize laureates, led by the King and Queen of Sweden, descend the stairs to the Blue Hall, where all the guests are already sitting in their places. The king is paired with one of the Nobel laureates, and if there are no women among the laureates, then with the wife of the Nobel laureate in physics. When the guests of honor take their places at the table, the first toast is made - to His Majesty. The second is in memory of Alfred Nobel. After this, guests can familiarize themselves with the menu, which is printed on special cards decorated with Nobel’s profile and distributed to all guests. Throughout the dinner, famous musicians perform classical music.
The banquet is held strictly according to schedule. Even all movements of waiters are subject to timing. Thus, the ceremonial introduction of dessert takes exactly three minutes, starting from the moment the first waiter appears, and ending with the moment when the last waiter takes his place near the guest table. All other dishes are served within two minutes. The banquet ends with the delivery of ice cream, crowned with a chocolate monogram “N” like a crown. Guests are served by a chief chef, 20 cooks, 8 senior waiters, 210 waiters and waitresses, 5 waiters specializing exclusively in wines, as well as several dozen support staff.
At 22-15, the King of Sweden opens the dance part of the celebration, which takes place in the Golden Hall of the Town Hall. The evening ends at 1:30 and the guests leave the ball.
Those who were not lucky enough to attend the Nobel banquet can enjoy all the dishes on the gala dinner menu since 1901. To do this, you need to visit the aforementioned restaurant “Town Hall Cellar”, where for $200 they will prepare a lunch consisting of dishes from the Nobel banquets. About 20,000 people come every year to do this.
It should be said that the Nobel banquet dedicated to the Peace Prize laureates is held at the place where it was awarded - the city of Oslo. And the king and queen of Norway preside over a similar ceremony there.
Nobel PrizeOne of the key events in the social and intellectual life of Sweden is Nobel Day - the annual presentation of the Nobel Prize, which takes place on December 10 in Stockholm's Studhuset (city hall).
These awards are internationally recognized as the most honorable civilian distinction. The Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Economics are presented to the laureates by His Majesty the King of Sweden at a ceremony held on the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel (December 10, 1896).
Each laureate receives a gold medal with Nobel's image and a diploma. Currently, the Nobel Prize is worth 10 million Swedish kronor (about 1.05 million euros or $1.5 million).
The Prizes in Chemistry, Physics and Economics are awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Prizes in Medicine are awarded by the Karolinska Institutet, and the Swedish Academy awards the Prize in Literature. The only non-Swedish prize, the Peace Prize, is awarded in Oslo by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
By the way, Nobel signed the last version of the famous will almost a year before his death - on November 27, 1895 in Paris. It was announced in January 1897: “All my movable and immovable property must be converted by my executors into liquid assets, and the capital thus collected must be placed in a reliable bank. The income from the investments should belong to a fund, which will distribute them annually in the form of bonuses to those who, during the previous year, have brought the greatest benefit to humanity... The said interest must be divided into five equal parts, which are intended: one part - to the one who makes the most important discovery or invention in the field of physics; the other - to the one who makes the most important discovery or improvement in the field of chemistry; the third - to the one who makes the most important discovery in the field of physiology or medicine; the fourth - to the one who creates the most outstanding literary work of an idealistic direction; fifth - to the one who has made the most significant contribution to the unity of nations, the abolition of slavery or the reduction of the size of existing armies and the promotion of peace congresses ... It is my special desire that in awarding prizes no regard shall be taken to the nationality of the candidates ... "
Alfred Bernhard Nobel, Swedish inventor, industrial magnate, linguist, philosopher and humanist, was born in 1833 in Stockholm into a Swedish family. In 1842, his family moved to St. Petersburg, the capital of what was then Russia. Nobel received an excellent education of international class. He read, wrote, spoke and understood equally well in 5 European languages: Swedish, Russian, English, French and German. Nobel went down in history as the inventor of dynamite, a substance that played an important role in the development of world industry.
During his life, Alfred Nobel became the owner of 355 patents, which formed the basis of about 90 enterprises in 20 countries. His brothers Robert and Louis, who worked in Russia and later in Baku in the oil fields, contributed to his fortune. Alfred Nobel bequeathed $4 million (currently equivalent to $173 million) to be used as prizes in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology and medicine. These areas were close to him, and in them he expected the greatest progress.
He did not bequeath prizes to architects, musicians and composers. Literature prizes also reflect Nobel's personal interests. In his youth he wrote poetry and poems in English and Swedish, and throughout his life he was a voracious reader in all languages accessible to him.The prizes in the field of science and literature were to be awarded in Sweden, and the peace prize - in Norway. The history of the Nobel Prize, the fund of which amounted to 31 million crowns, began with this will.
A year later, on December 10, 1896, Alfred Nobel died in Italy from a stroke. Later this date will be declared Nobel Day. After opening the will, it turned out that almost all of Nobel’s fortune was inaccessible to his relatives, who were counting on this money.
Even the Swedish king Oscar II showed dissatisfaction, who did not want finances to leave the country, even in the form of awards for world achievements. Objective bureaucratic difficulties also arose. The practical implementation of Nobel's will turned out to be very difficult, and under certain conditions the prizes might not take place.
But soon all obstacles were overcome, and in June 1898, Nobel’s relatives signed an agreement to renounce further claims to the capital. The main provisions related to the awarding of prizes also received approval from the Swedish government. In 1900, the Charter of the Nobel Foundation and the rules regulating the activities of the Nobel structures being created were signed by the King of Sweden. The prize was first awarded in 1901.
The Nobel Prize has become the most prestigious prize in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology, medicine, economics, literature and efforts to establish peace among nations. It is paid once a year from the funds of the fund created according to the will of Alfred Nobel. More than 600 people became Nobel Prize laureates during the 20th century.
Awarding awards does not always meet with universal approval. In 1953, Sir Winston Churchill received a literary prize, while the famous American writer Graham Greene never received it.
Each country has its own national heroes and often the award or non-award is disappointing. The famous Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren was never nominated for the prize, and the Indian Mahatma Gandhi never won the prize. But Henry Kissinger won the Peace Prize in 1973 - a year after the Vietnam War. There are known cases of refusal of the prize for reasons of principle: the Frenchman Jean Paul Sartre refused the literary prize in 1964, and the Vietnamese Le Dick Tho did not want to share it with Kissinger.
The Nobel Prizes are unique awards and are particularly prestigious. The question is often asked why these awards attract so much more attention than any other awards of the 20th century. One reason may be the fact that they were introduced in a timely manner and that they marked some fundamental historical changes in society. Alfred Nobel was a true internationalist, and from the very foundation of the prizes named after him, the international nature of the awards made a special impression. Strict rules for the selection of laureates, which began to apply since the establishment of the prizes, also played a role in recognizing the importance of the awards in question. As soon as the election for the current year's laureates ends in December, preparations begin for the election of next year's laureates. Such year-round activities, in which so many intellectuals from all over the world participate, orient scientists, writers and public figures to work in the interests of social development, which precedes the awarding of prizes for “contribution to human progress.”
The first Nobel banquet took place on December 10, 1901, simultaneously with the first presentation of the prize. Currently, the banquet is held in the Blue Hall of the City Hall. 1300-1400 people are invited to the banquet. Dress code: tailcoats and evening dresses. The menu development involves the participation of chefs from the Town Hall Cellar (a restaurant at the Town Hall) and culinary specialists who have ever received the title of Chef of the Year. In September, three menu options are tasted by members of the Nobel Committee, who decide what will be served “at the Nobel table.” The only dessert that is always known is ice cream, but until the evening of December 10, no one except a narrow circle of initiates knows what kind.
For the Nobel banquet, specially designed dinnerware and tablecloths are used. A portrait of Nobel is woven on the corner of each tablecloth and napkin. Handmade tableware: along the edge of the plate there is a stripe of three colors of the Swedish Empire - blue, green and gold. The stem of the crystal wine glass is decorated in the same color scheme. The banquet service was commissioned for $1.6 million for the 90th anniversary of the Nobel Prizes in 1991. It consists of 6,750 glasses, 9,450 knives and forks, 9,550 plates and one tea cup. The last one is for Princess Liliana, who doesn't drink coffee. The cup is stored in a special beautiful wooden box with the princess's monogram. The saucer from the cup was stolen.
The tables in the hall are arranged with mathematical precision, and the hall is decorated with 23,000 flowers sent from San Remo. All movements of the waiters are strictly timed down to the second. For example, the ceremonial bringing in of ice cream takes exactly three minutes from the moment the first waiter appears with a tray at the door until the last of them stands at his table. Other dishes take two minutes to serve.
Exactly at 19 o'clock on December 210, the guests of honor, led by the king and queen, descend the stairs to the Blue Hall, where all the invitees are already sitting. The Swedish king is holding a Nobel laureate on his arm, and if there is not one, the wife of a Nobel laureate in physics. The first to toast is to His Majesty, the second to the memory of Alfred Nobel. After this, the secret of the menu is revealed. The menu is printed in small print on cards included with each location and features Alfred Nobel's profile in gold embossing. There is music throughout the dinner - very famous musicians are invited, including Rostropovich and Magnus Lindgren in 2003.
The banquet ends with the delivery of ice cream, crowned with a chocolate monogram “N” like a crown. At 22:15 the Swedish king gives the signal for the start of dancing in the Golden Hall of the Town Hall. At 1:30 the guests leave.
Absolutely all dishes from the menu, from 1901 onwards, can be ordered at the Stockholm Town Hall restaurant. This lunch costs a little less than $200. Every year they are ordered by 20 thousand visitors, and traditionally the most popular menu is the last Nobel banquet.
The Nobel concert is one of the three components of the Nobel week, along with the presentation of prizes and the Nobel dinner. It is considered one of the main musical events of the year in Europe and the main musical event of the year in the Scandinavian countries. The most prominent classical musicians of our time take part in it. In fact, there are two Nobel concerts: one is held on December 8 of each year in Stockholm, the second in Oslo at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. The Nobel concert is broadcast on several international television channels on December 31 of each year.
