Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is "safe" and will reach Oslo by Thursday at the latest, but will not accept her Nobel Peace Prize in person, Nobel officials said.

Machado, who won the Nobel for challenging Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro's grip on power, is in hiding after threats to her life and has not been seen in public for months.

Her presence in the Norwegian capital could put her at risk of arrest if she tries to re-enter Venezuela, which has said it will declare her a fugitive if she leaves the country.

She is expected to reach Oslo "sometime between this evening and tomorrow morning," the Nobel institute's director Kristian Berg Harpviken told AFP Wednesday, shortly before the 1:00 pm (1200 GMT) ceremony, at which her daughter is set to accept the award in

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