The annual Ig Nobel Prizes, which celebrate unusual scientific achievements, are relocating their ceremony from the United States to Europe for the first time in 35 years, organisers announced on Monday. The move is prompted by growing concerns over attendees' ability to secure US visas.
The 36th annual ceremony will now take place in Zurich, Switzerland, instead of its traditional US venue. Marc Abrahams, master of ceremonies and editor of the Annals of Improbable Research, said in an email to The Associated Press: 'During the past year, it has become unsafe for our guests to visit the country.' He added that organisers could not in good conscience ask winners or international journalists to travel to the USA this year.
The decision comes amid heightened US immigration scrutiny, with a focus on deporting undocumented migrants and those holding student and visitor exchange visas. Last year, four of the 10 winners opted not to travel to Boston for the ceremony, which has historically been hosted at Harvard University, MIT, and Boston University.
This year's event is a collaboration with institutions of the ETH Domain and the University of Zurich. Abrahams noted that Switzerland has nurtured many unexpected good things, including Albert Einstein's physics and the cuckoo clock. Milo Puhan, an epidemiologist at the University of Zurich and a 2017 Ig Nobel laureate, welcomed the relocation, saying the prize makes research visible 'with a wink.'
Abrahams confirmed that Zurich will host the ceremony every other year, with other European cities taking turns in between. There are currently no immediate plans for the ceremony to return to the United States.
