This year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner is set to be unveiled this Friday, and the field appears to be wide open.
asserted
field → set → ?
Last year's award was presented to Venezuela's Maria Corina Machado, a democracy and peace activist who sought to replace the Venezuelan government, despite the Norwegian Nobel Committee coming under intense pressure from Donald Trump to hand him the coveted award.
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Committee → present → award
Machado symbolically handed her prize over to Trump, as a “recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom”, after the US forcibly removed Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro from power.
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US → hand → power
A number of high profile figures and organisations have been tipped for the 2026 prize, but experts warn last year’s controversy could affect this year’s result.
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controversy → tip → result
“I think last year's events around the Nobel Peace Prize, Maria Corina Machado giving it to Trump afterwards, will affect some of the considerations that they make,” said Haakon Gjerloew, acting director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo.
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Gjerloew → think → Institute
“One worry the committee might have is whether awarding it to someone could put them under pressure from Donald Trump...
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awarding → have → Trump
I think the committee will consider whether the award does more harm than good,” he told Reuters.
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he → think → Reuters
The announcement is due to be made on 9 October at 11am CEST (10am BST) by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
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announcement → make → Committee
The Independent takes a look at some of the potential contenders for this year’s prize.
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Independent → take → prize
Donald Trump has fallen noticeably quiet on the subject ahead of the announcement this year – and it’s not hard to see why.
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it → fall → announcement
The White House berated the Norwegian Nobel Committee for placing “politics over peace” when the US president was passed over for the 2025 award.
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president → berate → award
In the year that has followed Trump has forcibly removed a world leader in Venezuela, launched an ongoing war in the Middle East, and caused chaos in Greenland with threats to annex the island.
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Trump → follow → island
The US capture of Maduro followed months of attacks on boats in the Caribbean sea that Washington said was involved in the drug trade.
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Washington → follow → trade
Just two months later on 28 February, the US and Israel launched the war with Iran, a conflict that has dragged on for nearly eight months with no clear end in sight.
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that → launch → sight
With days to go until the winner is announced, Trump nevertheless has odds of 12/1 according to bookmakers Ladbrokes.
Pope Leo XIV
Pope Leo XIV has made repeatedly calls for peace since he was elected as pontiff in May last year.
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he → go → May
In September, he urged Ukraine and Russia to resume negotiations to end the conflict that is heading towards its sixth year.
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that → urge → year
“War has returned, even to Europe: a new senseless slaughter, claiming countless civilian lives every day,” the Pope told European leaders in Metz.
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Pope → return → Metz
“We need ... to show courage in negotiation and to be willing to give up some positions for the greater good of peace,” he added, invoking a similar 1917 appeal from Pope Benedict XV amid the carnage of World War I.
The American-born has also had high profile clashes with Donald Trump, after he spoke out against the Iran war the US president launched in February.
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president → need → February
The bookies put the Pope’s odds at 12/1.
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bookies → put → 12/1
The organisation is high up on almost all of the bookies’ list of favourites, and has been touted by experts as a frontrunner for the prize.
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organisation → tout → prize
Following major cuts to USAID and a reduction in international support for aid operations in Sudan, community and volunteer-led aid networks have provided critical services.
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networks → follow → services
The Emergency Response Rooms is a large network of local civilian initiatives that has stepped up to fill the gap left by these cuts.
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that → step → cuts
It emerged as a local initiative and now operates in at least 13 provinces across Sudan, with 26,000 volunteers.
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It → emerge → volunteers
Dozens of charity kitchen workers have been killed in recent years, many of which were in Khartoum while the Sudanese capital was under RSF control, one worker said in February.
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worker → kill → February
“These groups deliver essential humanitarian assistance in a highly complex conflict environment, with limited access to external resources and logistics,” said Mr Gjerløw in his personal 2026 Nobel Prize list, adding that “volunteers often operate in insecure areas, facing threats of harassment and violence”.
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volunteers → deliver → harassment
The charity is one of the favourites to win the prize, with 3/1 odds.
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charity → win → odds
The Ukrainian children’s rights activist has been hailed for his work on children’s rights movements and child welfare reforms.
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activist → hail → movements
He is the founder and CEO of Save Ukraine, a charity that rehabilitates children impacted by the war in Ukraine.
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that → rehabilitate → Ukraine
Founded in 2014 after the Russian invasion and annexation of Crimea, it is now the largest humanitarian organisation dedicated to rescuing stolen Ukrainian children and providing critical support to families affected by war.
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it → found → war
So far they have saved 1,763 children from Russia and Russian occupied territories of Ukraine.
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they → save → Ukraine
The Committee to Protect Journalists
This press freedom organisation has been defending the rights of journalists around the world for more than 40 years.
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organisation → defend → years
Hundreds of journalists are attacked, imprisoned, or killed every year, but they advocate for their release and fight for their right to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.
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they → attack → reprisal
The CPJ works around the world, with a focus on reducing the number of journalists in prisons and battling censorship.
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CPJ → work → censorship
The widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has become a vocal critic of the government in her own right.
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widow → become → right
After her husband’s death in an Arctic penal colony in 2024, she picked up his fight for democracy, justice, and the rule of law in Russia, and has been named among the favourites for a peace prize.
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she → pick → prize
Last year, she spoke out about her husband’s death and accused the Russian state of planning his murder.
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she → speak → murder
Moscow has denied killing Navalny.
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Moscow → deny → Navalny
She has since spoken publicly about the state of Russian politics and freedom, and released videos on smart voting in the September Duma elections.
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She → speak → elections
Bookies currently give her odds of 15/2 to win.
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Bookies → give → 15/2
Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières, have worked in more than 70 countries in 2026.
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Doctors → know → 2026
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
