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NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

Nobel cancels peace prize concert for lack of funds

The traditional concert after the annual awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10th in Oslo will not be staged this year due to financial difficulties, the organisers said Tuesday.

Published: 4 July 2018 09:24 CEST
Nobel cancels peace prize concert for lack of funds
Seinabo Sey performs at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo in 2014. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB scanpix

“There will be no Nobel Peace Prize concert” in 2018, said a statement from the Nobel Institute, Warner Bros Norway and the Gyro Event company.

“The decision emerges from a wish to re-think the concert format and content but also reflects the challenging financial situation of the concert in recent years,” it added.

Live television audiences for the concert, which has been paid for solely by private patrons, have fallen away in the age of smartphones and the organisers said they would consider new platforms.

The Dagbladet newspaper reported that Norway's supermarket giant Rema 1000 has pulled its sponsorship leaving the organisers unable to make up for the lost amount.

The show has attracted more than 100 leading acts ranging from Whitney Houston to Lady Gaga since it was launched at Oslo's Spektrum arena in 1994.

READ ALSO: Conan O'Brien to host Nobel concert in Oslo

ENTERTAINMENT

Barcelona to hold Covid trial concert with 5,000 people as big festivals get cancelled

Barcelona’s two main music festivals - Primavera Sound and Sonar - may have just been cancelled, but organisers will be holding a trial concert with an audience on Saturday instead, with masks and negative PCR tests required from concertgoers.

Published: 26 March 2021 11:21 CET
Barcelona to hold Covid trial concert with 5,000 people as big festivals get cancelled

The concert will be held on Saturday, March 27th at the Palau Sant Jordi and feature, Spanish indie pop band, Lovers of Lesbian.

The band will play to 5,000 fans and no social distancing will be necessary. Attendees must, however, present a negative Covid test and wear a high-protection FFP2 face mask.

Tests will be carried out on the same day in some of the city’s biggest clubs, Luz de Gas, Sala Apolo and Razzmatazz.

The trial concert will be monitored by scientists from the Germans Trias I Pujol Hospital.

Organisers have said they will also guarantee air quality inside the venue at 350 particles per million CO2, meaning that it will be similar to the air quality outside.

“We have started a comeback,” one of the event organisers, Jordi Herreruela said in his briefing to parliament about the concert.

Both of Barcelona’s biggest music festivals – Primavera Sound (usually held at the end of May) and Sonar (usually held mid-June) have been cancelled for a second year, due to the Covid-19 situation. 

The trial however, seeks to prove that it is possible to organise concerts safely despite the pandemic. All the participants have agreed to follow the safety rules to help get back to some sense of normality.

In December 2020, Barcelona’s Sala Apolo club also held a trial concert with 500 people and no social distancing. Attendees also had to provide negative antigen and PCR tests in advance. The concert was deemed a success as no one contracted Covid-19 during the event.

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