Nobel officials delayed a press conference with Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado in Oslo on Tuesday, but said they remained confident Venezuela's elusive opposition leader would collect her award in person.
It was not known whether Machado, who has been in hiding since August 2024, was in the city. The Venezuelan government has said it would declare her a "fugitive" if she attends, putting her at risk of arrest if she tries to re-enter the country.
Her family is already in the Norwegian capital and said they hoped she would attend.
The press conference, traditionally held by the prizewinner on the eve of the December 10 award ceremony in Oslo, was expected to be the 58-year-old's first public appearance in 11 months.
In a message to the media early on Tuesday, the institute said the press conference was "postponed", without giving a reason for the delay.
"Everything suggests that we will manage to organise a press conference today," Nobel Institute spokesperson Erik Aasheim said.
It remained, however, unclear whether Machado had arrived in Oslo and would be able to accept her award in person on Wednesday.
The chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jorgen Watnes Frydnes, said early on Tuesday that her presence was "more or less" confirmed.
Machado has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of stealing the July 2024 election she was banned from standing in.
She has lived in hiding in Venezuela since August 2024.
She last appeared in public at a demonstration in Caracas on January 9, protesting against Maduro's inauguration for his third term.
'Fugitive'
Venezuela's attorney general, Tarek William Saab, said last month the opposition leader would be considered a "fugitive" if she travelled to Norway to accept the prize.
"By being outside Venezuela and having numerous criminal investigations, she is considered a fugitive," Saab said, adding she is accused of "acts of conspiracy, incitement of hatred, terrorism".
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on Monday he did not know if she would travel to Oslo.
The Nobel prize ceremony will take place on Wednesday at 1:00 pm (1200 GMT) at Oslo's City Hall.
Several members of Machado's family, including her mother, three sisters and daughter, were already in Oslo for the event.
"I would never have imagined it. I had heard and read that she had been nominated" for the award, her mother Corina Parisca de Machado said on Monday, recalling the day her daughter won.
"I thought: 'Caramba! (Wow!) What a wonderful day that would be'," the 84-year-old added.
Several Latin American leaders, including Argentine President Javier Milei — like Machado, an ally of US President Donald Trump — were also expected to attend the ceremony.
Seen in Oslo on Monday was Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino, who said he came to "congratulate the hero of democracy and the struggling Venezuelan people" and voiced hope for a "return to democracy in Venezuela as soon as possible".
A large police presence has meanwhile stood guard since Monday outside the Grand Hotel in central Oslo, which traditionally hosts the Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
While Machado has been hailed by many, she has also been criticised by others for aligning herself with Trump, to whom she has dedicated her Nobel Prize.
The Oslo ceremony coincides with a large US military build-up in the Caribbean in recent weeks and deadly strikes on what Washington says are drug smuggling boats.
Maduro insists that the real goal of the US operations — which Machado has said are justified — is to topple the government and seize Venezuela's oil reserves.
