Jay Leno comes out of retirement to host Nobel concert

Former "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno will host the traditional Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo on December 11 honouring this year's laureates, organisers announced on Monday.

"It is truly an honour, and I will do my best not to embarrass myself and my country. Plus I can't wait to leave 80 degree weather in Los Angeles and go to Oslo, Norway in the middle of winter," joked Leno, who stepped down from the long-running NBC show in February 2014 after a remarkable 22-year run.

A quartet of Tunisian civil society groups were awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize in October for helping rescue the only democracy that emerged from the Arab Spring.

They will receive their prize on December 10 at a formal ceremony at Oslo's City Hall, followed by the concert the next evening.

"There's nothing more exciting than being awakened in the middle of the night by people with Norwegian accents who tell you that you've been chosen to host the Nobel Peace Prize concert," Leno said in a statement.

Among the artists due to perform at the concert are the Norwegian pop group A-ha, which announced their comeback in March, 30 years after their worldwide hit "Take On Me".