In her introductory speech, Ms. Berit Reiss-Andersen, chairwoman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, praised the importance of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons for today's world. She quoted several previous Nobel Peace Prize laureates (Martin Luther King jr. or Barack Obama) who warned of the apocalyptic use of nuclear weapons.

The ICAN chairwoman Ms. Beatrice Fihn and Ms. Setsuko Thurlow gave their lectures afterwards. Fihn has stressed that the reasons for the possession of nuclear weapons are groundless and obsolete now. Mankind will either try to eliminate them or risk its own destruction. She has called on states that have nuclear bombs in their arsenal to withdraw from them. A warm welcome was given to the speech by Ms. Setsuko Thurlow, 85-year-old Canadian of Japanese origin who survived the Hiroshima nuclear explosion as the only member of a relatively large family.

The ceremony was attended by the Royal Family, the Norwegian Government, diplomatic corps and leading representatives of both public and social life.