Fact check: What are the key dates in the Nobel Peace Prize nomination and selection process for 2025?

1. Why 31 January matters — the hard cutoff that starts the race

The nomination process formally closes on 31 January, meaning any nominations submitted after that date are not considered for that year’s prize; this deadline is established in the Nobel Foundation statutes and reiterated in official guidance each year. The January 31 deadline triggers the committee’s administrative screening and signals the start of the committee’s eight-month deliberative period, during which nominations are validated and initial reports prepared, typically culminating in detailed adviser reports by late April ^{[1] [3]}. Missing this date disqualifies a nomination for 2025.

2. A late-February turning point — the committee’s first meeting can reshape the list

After nominations close, the Norwegian Nobel Committee holds an initial meeting — in 2025 this took place on 28 February — where it may add additional names and determine which nominations proceed to in-depth study. That early meeting is administrative but consequential: it produces the longlist and sets the timetable for assigning advisers and external experts who draft the substantive evaluations that guide later shortlisting ^{[1] [3]}. The February meeting is not the final decision point, but it frames the months-long review.

3. Spring shortlisting — expert reports and April milestones

The statutes call for a systematic screening that produces adviser reports, and the committee typically expects initial reports by the end of April, after which the field is winnowed toward a shortlist. This spring evaluation phase involves both Norwegian and international advisers, each preparing assessments of candidates’ merits; those reports form the evidentiary backbone for committee debates in the summer and fall. April is the approximate milestone when the process shifts from cataloguing nominations to substantive evaluation ^{[3] [4]}.

4. Secrecy and procedure — 50 years of confidentiality and committee independence

Nominations and deliberations are kept secret for 50 years, a long-standing rule designed to protect nominators and the integrity of discussions. The Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasizes its independence from political pressure and media campaigns, asserting that publicity around candidates does not determine outcomes and that each nominee is evaluated on individual merits ^{[5] [6]}. Secrecy and institutional independence are core procedural features.

5. The announcement rhythm — first Friday of October and the broadcast time

Tradition and the 2025 schedule place the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize on the first Friday of October; for 2025 the committee set the announcement for Friday, 10 October at 11:00 CEST, to be broadcast from the Norwegian Nobel Institute and carried live on official channels. This public announcement is the culmination of the committee’s months-long review and is scheduled in coordination with other Nobel Prize announcements in early October ^{[2] [3]}. The October announcement is the public climax of the selection cycle.

6. The December ceremony — formal presentation in Oslo on 10 December

The laureate^[7] receive the Nobel Peace Prize at the official award ceremony in Oslo on 10 December, a fixed date that honors Alfred Nobel’s death anniversary and is the final ceremonial act of the year’s Nobel process. The December ceremony is separate from the committee’s selection timeline but is the formal public conferral of the prize; between October and December, laureates typically prepare acceptance remarks and the Nobel institutions organize the ceremony logistics ^{[1] [4]}. December 10 is the institutional capstone.

7. Numbers and timelines — longlists, eight-month reviews, and selection dynamics

The committee’s published process for 2025 underscores an eight-month review window from late January to October, during which longlists (reported as hundreds of nominees in 2025) are evaluated, shortlisted, and then deliberated upon by committee members and external experts; media reporting cited a longlist figure of 338 individuals and organisations under consideration at a point in the cycle. The committee stresses that despite public speculation and campaigning, selection rests on documented assessments and the committee’s internal judgement rather than media pressure ^{[3] [5] [4]}. The timeline and scale shape how candidates are vetted and chosen.