The 2010 Nobel Prizes were awarded by the Nobel Foundation, based in Sweden. Six categories were awarded: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economic Sciences.
Nobel Week took place from December 6 to 12, including programming such as lectures, dialogues, and discussions. The award ceremony and banquet for the Peace Prize were scheduled in Oslo on December 10, while the award ceremony and banquet for all other categories were scheduled for the same day in Stockholm.
Liu Xiaobo's Prize was awarded in absentia because he was imprisoned in China.
Led by pressure from China, several countries boycotted the awards ceremony in Sweden due to the Peace Prize's awarding to Liu. China also announced the inauguration of their own peace prize, the Confucius Peace Prize, to be awarded the day before the Nobel Prizes award ceremony.