Obama to spend two nights in Oslo for peace prize functions

Dec 1, 2009, 13:34 GMT

Oslo - US President Barack Obama will likely spend two nights in Oslo next week where he is to receive his Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said Tuesday.

'What can be confirm today is that that he will arrive on Wednesday the 9th, and he will arrive 'late evening' it is said,' Geir Lundestad, secretary of the committee, told broadcaster NRK.

Obama is due on December 10 to receive his Nobel Peace Prize. He was cited by the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee for 'his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.'

The day before the award ceremony, Obama is scheduled to visit the Danish capital of Copenhagen, where the United Nations climate change conference takes place from December 7-18.

In Oslo, Obama's programme includes the award ceremony in Oslo City Hall, a banquet in his honour, a reception at the royal palace with King Harald and Queen Sonja, and a meeting with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

The Norwegian government on Friday approved extra funds for security measures when the US president visits Oslo.

The peace prize is one of the awards endowed by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite.