Nobel Week kicks off in Stockholm

STOCKHOLM - The 2014 Nobel laureates are taking part in a series of events ahead of the official awards ceremony. On the first day of Nobel Week, 10 out of 13 laureates attended a chair-signing event, news agency TT reported.

It is a 100-year-old tradition and the signed chairs are used in the cafe of the Nobel Museum, located in Stockholm's Old Town.

Peace Prize laureates Kailash Satyarthi of India and Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, as well as one of the three physics laureates, Isamu Akasaki of Japan, were not present at the chair-signing. The winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Eric Betzig, signed his chair with the words "work hard and find your passion," while John O'Keefe 0 - one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine - wrote that he is "still searching for his path."

The Nobel Week events include several press conferences, dinners and seminars. The laureates will also give lectures on a subject related to the topic of their prizes. The Nobel Lectures are free of charge and open to the public. In addition, there is the traditional classical music concert in the Stockholm Concert Hall held in honour of the laureates, who will also make individual visits to the Nobel Foundation in the coming week.

The Nobel Banquet is to be held at the Stockholm City Hall on Dec 10. It is followed by a banquet at the Royal Palace the following day.

The 2014 Nobel Week takes place between Dec 6 and Dec 13.