Swedish Court Blocks Plans for New Nobel Centre

All in all it hasn’t been a great year for the Swedish Academy as the organisation that gives out the Nobel Prizes has been swamped with a sexual misconduct scandal and rape allegations. And now in a further blow to the Academy, plans for a new Nobel Centre at Stockholm’s old harbour have been blocked.

The Nobel Centre was to be constructed in Stockholm’s old harbour, which would become the new location from which the prestigious awards for literature, science and the arts are handed out. However Sweden’s Land and Environmental Court ruled that the new building would damage a cultural heritage site, inconvenience neighbouring properties and did not address traffic issues.

The Nobel ceremonies are currently held at Stockholm Concert Hall, but this year’s ceremony was cancelled after a mire of sexual abuse allegations and scandal. It’s been stated that next year’s prize may also be cancelled and with this fresh blow, it seems the ground underneath this long established prize and organisation is shaky.

The Academy has appealed against the decision but that ruling is not yet known.