You may have thought that you'd heard the last of Bob Dylan not attending the Nobel Prize ceremony in Sweden this Saturday, but the saga continues.

Dylan won't be on hand to collect his Prize for Literature or to perform, but Patti Smith will be in attendance, instead.

What's more, the punk-poet and contemporary of Dylan's will play a cover of his song 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall' as a tribute to him.

The Nobel committee has revealed that Dylan has provided a 'speech' that will be read at the ceremony, but it's not yet clear who will actually read it.