Bob Dylan has special fans at a Stockholm concert this weekend — members of the Swedish Academy who will hand him his 2016 Nobel literature diploma and medal.
Sara Danius, the academy's permanent secretary, has been tight-lipped as to when and where Nobel officials will meet with the 75-year-old singer-songwriter, except to say their meeting — on Saturday or Sunday — would be "small and intimate, and no media will be present."
On her blog, Danius posted photos of her sporting a T-shirt with a Dylan effigy over the text "literature 2016." The caption read: "Ready, steady, go. Getting ready for Dylan*s concerts in Stockholm this weekend. The artist Mu Wiesel created the T-shirt."
Dylan had declined the invitation to attend the traditional Nobel Prize banquet and ceremony on Dec. 10 — the date of Alfred Nobel's death —pleading other commitments.
In order to receive the award worth 8 million kronor ($894,800), Dylan must give a lecture within six months from Dec. 10. He has said he will not give his Nobel lecture this weekend but a recorded version will be sent later.
Taped Nobel lectures are occasionally presented, most recently in 2013 by Canadian Nobel literature laureate Alice Munro.
The 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Dylan "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." He had expressed awe at receiving the Nobel Prize and thanked the Swedish Academy for including him among the "giants" of writing.
Dylan's previous gigs in Sweden were two sold-out concerts in 2015 at the Waterfront, which seats 3,000. Besides Stockholm, Dylan is also playing in the southwestern city of Lund on April 9.
