“Champions” Queen win 2025 Polar Music Prize, Hancock and Hannigan also honoured

STOCKHOLM: British rock band Queen, American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan were awarded the 2025 Polar Music Prize on Tuesday.

The Polar Prize hailed Queen for their “distinctive and instantly recognizable sound that no one else can emulate”.

“Queen were not exaggerating when they sang ‘We are the Champions’,” it said in a statement.

Queen have sold more than 300 million albums featuring songs such as “We Will Rock You”, “Another One Bites The Dust” and “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

Founded in 1970, the band featured flamboyant frontman Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass player John Deacon.

They played stadiums across the world - including a memorable performance at the Live Aid concert in 1985 - before Mercury’s death in 1991.

They relaunched in 2004 with a succession of new singers.

Queen share the prize with American jazz pianist Herbie Hanckock, a collaborator of Miles Davies among others as well as a solo star in his own right, and Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan.

Founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, publisher and manager of the Swedish band ABBA, previous winners include Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Sting, Elton John and Metallica.