Nobel Banquet

Nobel Banquet Nobelfesten
2005 Nobel Banquet
Genre	Banquet
Date(s)	10 December
Frequency	Annual
Venue	Blue Hall,
Location(s)	, Sweden
Country	Sweden
Inaugurated	1901 (1901)

The Nobel Banquet (Swedish: Nobelfesten) is an annual banquet held on 10 December in the Blue Hall of , after the Nobel Prize ceremony. At the banquet, for which a formal dress code exists, a multi-course dinner is served and entertainment provided. After the dinner, a dance is held in the . The event is broadcast live on SVT and Sveriges Radio, with generally high ratings.

The first banquet, for 113 male guests, was held in 1901 and until 1923 it was known as the Nobel Dinner (Swedish: Nobelmiddagen). Until 1930 the banquet was held in Vinterträdgården at Stockholm's , and it has also been held in the Golden Hall of the Swedish Academy (Svenska Akademien).

The banquet hosts 1,300 guests (including the Swedish Royal Family) and 200 students. Its host, the chair of the Nobel Foundation, is always seated at the royal table.

During the dinner (usually four hours long) each Nobel Prize recipient makes a speech, often lighthearted in character. There are two ceremonial cheers: one for the Swedish monarch and the other, made by the monarch, in memory of Alfred Nobel. The speeches and cheers are presented by the banquet's toastmaster, traditionally a Swedish student who holds the job for four years.

Service during the banquet is provided by waiting staff, chefs, and others who are trained for several weeks. Since the 1970s, flowers for the banquet have been provided by the Italian city of Sanremo (where Nobel lived during his final years). They are grown in the province of Imperia in the Liguria region of Italy.