Peace dove with good news

Peace dove flying outside the Nobel Peace Center
Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center

Every Friday (April - primo October) at 12:00, a peace dove flies from the Nobel Peace Center with “The good news of the week.”

A new tradition has begun in Oslo. Every Friday at noon, during the summer half year, the Nobel Peace Center releases a peace dove together with “The good news of the week”, marking that the world is moving forward in a more peaceful direction.

The white dove is released from a window at the Nobel Peace Center, situated on the City Hall Square. As the dove overflies the square, the John Lennon song Give Peace a Chance will play from the bell towers.

During the winter-season (October - April) the Peace Dove is a digital happening, as the dove cannot in cold weather. Follow us on social media to see the peace dove and read the good news of the week.

"In a world that seems unsafe and unstable, peace and hope is needed more than ever, and the white dove is probably the strongest symbol we have of peace and hope."
- Executive Director Kjersti Fløgstad, Nobel Peace Center
Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center

Facts about the peace dove

  • The dove that flies from the Nobel Peace Center belongs to the Norwegian Carrier Pigeon Society. It is delivered to the Center by their owner each Friday.
  • When the dove is released, it flies straight home to their base in the eastern part of Oslo.
  • The doves can fly 80km/h with a top speed of 100km, and they always find their way home.
  • The dove has been used as a symbol for centuries, but gained tracting as a symbol of peace after WWII, when it was used by the anti-war movement.
  • Pablo Picasso drew his famous dove of peace with an olive branch for the International Peace Conference in Paris in 1949.