Royal presence at Polar Music Prize

The Polar Music Prize is one of the most prestigious music prizes in the world. The Prize will be awarded by H M King Carl XVI Gustaf to Mr. Youssou N’Dour (Senegal) and Mrs Kaija Saariaho (Finland) on Tuesday the 27th of August at the Stockholm Concert hall. The ceremony will be broadcast live on TV4. The general public can take part of the festivities through Polar Music Week. 

The Polar Music Prize crosses over musical boundaries and is awarded to individuals, groups and institutions in recognition of exceptional achievement. The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by the late Stig ”Stikkan” Anderson, one of the true greats in the history of popular music. As the publisher, lyricist and manager of ABBA, he played a key role in their enormous success. Its name stems from Anderson´s legendary record label, Polar Records.

The board of the Stig Anderson Music Award Foundation includes representatives from the Stig Anderson family, SKAP (The Swedish Society of Popular Music Composers) and STIM (The Swedish Performing Rights Society). The task of scrutinizing nominations submitted and selecting the ultimate laureates is undertaken by an Award Committee comprising of experienced members of the music industry. 

Polar Music Talks
Polar Music Talks  is best described as a “verbal jam session”. Laureates, entrepreneurs, academics, politicians and business leaders come together for inspiring lectures mixed with trend spotting, panel discussions and debates. The Talks aims to not only cross boundaries, but also build bridges between culture, medicine, technology, business, creativity and music of all types. 

Polar Music Week
The general public is invited to take part of the festivities. Besides following the event on twitter #polarmusicprize #polartalks you can enjoy these events:

• Polar Music Prize exhibition: The Swedish Music Hall of Fame, in the same building as ABBA The Museum, houses an exhibition about the history, the laureates and music. When: August 17-october
• Outdoor photo exhibtion: Beautiful photos of previous Polar Music Prize laureates taken by the photographer Baldur Bragason in the Kungsträdgården park. When: August 21-29.
• Baltic Sea Festival - opening concert: The classical music festival pays a tribute to the Polar Music Prize laureate Kaija Saariaho. When: August 23.
• Movies from Senegal: Cinemafrica pays tribute to the Polar Music Prize laureate Youssou N'Dour three films at BioRio. When: August 25
• Polar Music Prize Concert - Kaija Saariaho: Norrbotten neo performs chamber music by Kaija Saariaho in Grünewaldsalen, The Stockholm Concert Hall. When: August 28.
• Polar Music Prize Concert - Youssou N'Dour: With his band Super Étoile de Dakar mr Youssou N'Dor performs in the Stora Salen at the Stockholm Concert Hall. August 28.