GHOSTwill be joined by OPETH guitarist Fredrik Åkesson for a performance at this year’s Polar Music Prize. The ceremony — which will honor the legendary rock band QUEEN, American jazz great Herbie Hancock and Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan — will be held on Tuesday, May 27, at the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm and is set to broadcast live in Sweden on TV4 at 8 p.m. CET.
Also performing at the gala will be Adam Lambert, who has been touring the world for the past 13 years two surviving members of QUEEN — Brian May and Roger Taylor — under the QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT banner, as well as Miriam Bryant, former SKID ROW singer Erik Grönwall and jazz musicians Esperanza Spalding, Robert Glasper and Leo Genovese.
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 (approximately £74,082 GBP and $93,897 USD).
On being chosen, QUEEN said: „We are highly and deeply honored 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 honor 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.
QUEEN remains one of the most popular groups in the world today, transcending multiple generations of fans, a position further buoyed by the phenomenal global success of their Academy Award-winning 2018 biographical film „Bohemian Rhapsody“, which tells the incredible story of the band’s historic career and quickly became the highest grossing music biopic in history.
The film’s title was inspired by their iconic 1975 single „Bohemian Rhapsody“, the world’s most-streamed song from the 20th Century and the first pre-1980s song to achieve more than one billion video views.
QUEEN members May, Taylor, bassist John Deacon and the unforgettable singer Freddie Mercury brought a new dimension to live music. The band has released a total of 18 chart-topping albums and 18 No. 1 singles, while selling more than 300 million albums worldwide, making them one of the biggest rock acts of all time. They’ve received seven Ivor Novello awards in the U.K., were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001, the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2003, the UK Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2004, and even received their own star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in October 2002. The rock legends were honored with the Global Icon award at the 2011 MTV European Music Awards and closed the show with a triumphant and stunning medley of hits from their extraordinary musical career. May and Taylor were joined by Lambert on vocals for a musical voyage through their greatest hits, including „The Show Must Go On“, „We Will Rock You“ and „We Are The Champions“.
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