Salma Hayek to host Nobel concert

OSLO—Hollywood actress Salma Hayek will host the concert in Oslo next month honouring the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winners, the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA and its director Mohamed ElBaradei, organisers said. The 39-year-old star will be master of ceremonies at the December 11 event, featuring artists such as Duran Duran, Sugababes and Westlife, according to organiser Odd Arvid Stroemstad.
“It is important for us to find someone who does not just want to showcase him or herself. I have the impression that Salma is part of Hollywood’s intellectual elite and that she considers it a great honour to host the Nobel concert,” Stroemstad told the daily Verdens Gang (VG). Born in 1966 in Mexico, Hayek was nominated for an Academy Award for best actress in 2003 for her portrayal of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in the movie “Frida”.
Concert organisers are still considering whether also to have a male master of ceremonies. Last year, actor Tom Cruise and US television talk show host Oprah Winfrey co-hosted the event honouring Kenyan ecologist Wangari Maathai. This year’s winners were honoured “for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way,” the Nobel jury said. They will receive their prize at a formal ceremony in Oslo on December 10.—Agencies