QUEEN, HERBIE HANCOCK AND BARBARA HANNIGAN ANNOUNCED AS 2025 POLAR MUSIC PRIZE LAUREATES

Award ceremony will take place on Tuesday 27th May in Stockholm 

Stockholm, Tuesday 18 March: Queen, Herbie Hancock and Barbara Hannigan are today announced as recipients of the 2025 Polar Music Prize. The trio will join the roll call of trailblazing artists all bestowed with the prestigious honour, which celebrates excellence in music. The Polar Music Prize ceremony takes place on Tuesday 27 May in Stockholm at the Grand Hôtel and is broadcast live in Sweden on TV4 at 8pm (CET). 

For three decades, the Polar Music Prize has honoured and recognised pioneering musical legacy. The 2025 recipients will add their names to the list of innovators from contemporary and classical music, winning one of the creative realm’s most coveted modern accolades. The Polar Music Prize is presented at a ceremony in Stockholm in the presence of the Swedish Royal Family, and each Laureate will receive money of one million Swedish Krona (approx. £74,082 GBP and $93,897 USD). 

On being chosen, Queen said: “We are highly and deeply honoured to be given the Polar Music Prize this year. It’s incredible, thank you so much” 

Marie Ledin, managing director of the Polar Music Prize, added: “It is our immense privilege to honour and award these three Laureates at the 2025 Polar Music Prize. Queen, a band synonymous with the very fabric of pop culture, have made an impact on music that spans decades, generations and genres. They are a most deserving recipient, beloved the world over."

The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by Stig ”Stikkan” Anderson, a true legend in the history of Swedish popular music. Stig Anderson was the publisher, lyricist and manager of ABBA, and he played a key role in their enormous success. The prize, named after Anderson’s legendary record label Polar Music, celebrates the power and importance of music and is awarded to individuals, groups or institutions for international recognition of excellence in the world of music.