Queen are among the recipients of the 2025 Polar Music Prize Laureates along with Herbie Hancock and Barbara Hannigan. The trio will join the roll call of trailblazing artists all bestowed with the prestigious honor, which celebrates excellence in music. The Polar Music Prize ceremony takes place on Tuesday 27 May in Stockholm at the Grand Hotel and is broadcast live in Sweden on TV4 at 8pm (CET).
For three decades, the Polar Music Prize has honored and recognized 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.
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”
Herbie Hancock said: “The Polar Music Prize is a prestigious honour, and I am both thrilled and humbled to be a recipient. The Laureates who have come before me have left an indelible mark on humanity through their profound examples of inspiration and dedication.”
Barbara Hannigan said: “I am deeply moved and humbled to receive this year’s Polar Music Prize. Thank you so much for including me among this incredible and inspiring group of Laureates.”
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.
“Herbie Hancock is a musical legend and tour de force. His music has pushed boundaries in jazz, funk soul and R&B, and we are thrilled to honour his enduring legacy. Barbara Hannigan is a presence like no other; a passionate soprano and conductor of a unique and courageous path. We are looking forward to celebrating all three recipients at this year’s event.”
Formed in 1970, Queen – Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon (who joined the band in 1971) – are one of the most enduring and compelling bands ever to have emerged from the UK. Fusing an eclectic blend of progressive rock, hard rock, heavy metal, arena pomp and pop accessibility, their music is unmistakable. It was the band’s vocal harmonies, in particular, that marked them out as such a unique proposition on the world stage. “We blended very well together,” said Taylor. “We developed our vocal sound which was very much the three voices and that was very recognisable.”
May added: “The three of us could all sing and we had one of the greatest singers in the world in Freddie, of course. I don’t think we quite knew it at the time. We were fortunate because when the three of us sang in unison within the harmony parts, it made a very distinctive tuneful sound.”
Unlike many of their peers, Queen embraced feverous audience participation, which became a calling card of their legendary live performances. May said: “It was an epiphany for us when we suddenly realised everyone was singing everything at our concerts, so we thought – why don’t we encourage it? From then on, we were a band completely interacting with our audience. It was a big step at the time to do that.”
Freddie Mercury’s prowess as a frontman, with his charisma, penchant for theatrics and incredible range, made him one of the all-time greatest rock stars. “He’s very complex, Freddie,” continued May. “A very shy person who became this very powerful person on stage, and he understood how people connect. He was a leader on stage. A leader of the people. He had an extraordinary voice.”
Together, Queen remain one of the world’s biggest-selling musical artists, with over 300 million record sales and a legacy that continues to enthral, influence and inspire.
