Bob Dylan won’t attend Nobel Prize ceremony due to ‘pre-existing commitments’

Bob Dylan has revealed he is unable to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony due to “pre-existing commitments”.

The 75-year-old singer has been honoured with the Nobel Prize for Literature, but is unable to accept the prestigious award in person from the ceremony on December 10.

The Swedish Academy announced the news in a statement and said it was “unusual” for laureates to not attend the event.

“Yesterday evening the Swedish Academy received a personal letter from Bob Dylan, in which he explained that due to pre-existing commitments, he is unable to travel to Stockholm in December and therefore will not attend the Nobel Prize Ceremony,” the statement read.

“He underscored, once again, that he feels very honoured indeed, wishing that he could receive the prize in person.

“That laureates decide not to come is unusual, to be sure, but not exceptional. In the recent past, several laureates have, for various reasons, been unable to come to Stockholm to receive the prize, among them Doris Lessing, Harold Pinter, and Elfriede Jelinek. The prize still belongs to them, just as it belongs to Bob Dylan.”

It was also revealed that Dylan must give a Nobel Lecture in return for his absence if he wishes to keep the accolade.

The statement finished: “We look forward to Bob Dylan’s Nobel Lecture, which he must give – it is the only requirement – within six months counting from December 10, 2016.”

Dylan was awarded the prize “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”.

He was branded "arrogant" by Per Wastberg, a member of the Swedish Academy, after he failed to acknowledge the accolade last month.

Speaking to Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter he said:"One can say that it is impolite and arrogant. He is who he is."

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