Bob Dylan did not attend Nobel Prize event at the White House

It took more than two weeks for the US folk icon to accept the award

Kevin Winter/Getty

Bob Dylan will not go to the White House to celebrate his recent Nobel Prize win.

Dylan, a US folk music icon, won the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature, although he did not immediately welcome the idea. He did not initially respond to the organisations calls upon announcement of the prize. Dylan later said he was honoured to receive the award, he will not be attending the ceremony in Stockholm.

“Unfortunately, Bob Dylan will not be at the White House today,” Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Tuesday. “So everyone can relax.”

Mr Earnest did not elaborate further.

Mr Obama had previously expressed his congratulations to Dylan.

“Congratulations to one of my favourite poets, Bob Dylan, on a well-deserved Nobel,” he tweeted last month.

Dylan finally accepted the award more than two weeks after the Nobel committee made their announcement.

When he broke his silence, he barely seemed bothered in an interview with the Telegraph, calling it “amazing, incredible”.

“Whoever dreams about something like that?"