Pope John Paul and rock star Bono are among 166 nominees for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize.
"We have received 166 nominations so far, of which 29 are organisations," the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Mr Geir Lundestad, said. "The geographical scope is wide."
As usual, he declined to name any candidates for the prize, which last year went to Kenya's Ms Wangari Maathai, the head of a tree-planting movement and the first environmentalist to win.
Some names have been made public or leaked privately by people nominating them. Former US secretary of state Colin Powell was also among them. But many Nobel watchers believe the 2005 award will go to an individual or a group involved with relief efforts after the devastating December 26th tsunami, such as Save the Children or Oxfam.
Among other aid groups, the International Committee of the Red Cross has won the prize three times, in 1963, 1944 and 1917. Most recently, Médecins Sans Frontières won in 1999.
The deadline for nominations for the award, named after Swedish dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel, passed on February 1st. Those who can make nominations include members of parliament, former Nobel laureates and some university professors.
The list of names is secret, but some people publicise their suggestions for the $1.43 million prize, to be announced in October and awarded on December 10th.
The Nobel committee broadened its interpretation of peace last year by picking an environmentalist. Another unorthodox pick would be a musician, such as Bono, lead singer of U2, or Indian spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.