Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille will make an announcement on Thursday relating to the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates to be held in the city.

This after the Cape Argus reported on Wednesday that the summit had been called off, citing unnamed independent sources.

Nobel peace prize winner Jody Williams told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday that the summit had been cancelled because "enough Nobel laureates refused to go".

Last month, 14 Nobel laureates wrote to President Jacob Zuma asking that a South African travel visa be granted to the Dalai Lama.

This was the third time in five years he could not secure a visa to enter South Africa.

At the time the international relations department said the Dalai Lama's visa application was a closed matter, and that he had cancelled his trip.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Wednesday criticised the government for allegedly refusing a visa to the Tibetan spiritual leader.

"I am ashamed to call this lickspittle bunch my government," he said in a statement.