The Nobel Foundation, which manages the Nobel Prizes, on Tuesday cancelled its traditional December banquet due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though the award ceremonies will still be held in “new forms”.

This is the first time since 1956 that the banquet has been cancelled, according to the foundation.

“The Nobel week will not be as it usually is due to the current pandemic. This is a very special year when everyone needs to make sacrifices and adapt to completely new circumstances,” Lars Heikensten, director of the Nobel Foundation, said in a statement.