After years of mounting an internationally televised concert in connection with the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, the Norwegian Nobel Institute says it’s taking “temporary leave” to “re-think” the concert’s format and content. There will be no concert after this year’s prize is awarded in December, also a reflection of the concert’s “challenging financial situation” in recent years.
It simply costs a lot to produce the concert and returns don’t appear to have justified expenses. It has received financial support strictly from private Norwegian sponsors. Olav Njølstad, director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, states on the institute’s website that “we have struggled to maintain an appropriate level of financing and want to use the year ahead to develop a new format for the concert.”
Njølstad claims the institute aims “to launch a renewed and better concert in 2019.” The institute also noted “radical change” in the public’s media preferences that has reduced traditional so-called “linear” TV viewing. Njølstad said his staff, concert producers and organizers (Warner Bros Norway and Gyro) will pursue options for making the concert “come to life on multiple platforms.”
The Nobel Peace Prize Concert evolved into a major commercial production over the past decade. It’s been seen as a means of promoting and publicizing the Nobel Peace Prize and the work of its winners, but some of the concerts have also received lukewarm reviews and featured artists popular in the past. “The reputation of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the status of the concert both in Norway and abroad, provides plenty opportunity for change and growth,” Njølstad said.
newsinenglish.no staff
