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.

LOS ANGELES: A delivery driver has won $50 million in a lawsuit after being seriously burned when a Starbucks drink spilled in his lap at a California drive-through, court records show.
A Los Angeles County jury found Friday for Michael Garcia, who underwent skin grafts and other procedures on his genitals after a venti-sized tea drink spilled instants after he collected it on Feb. 8, 2020. He has suffered permanent and life-changing disfigurement, according to his attorneys.
Garcia’s negligence lawsuit blamed his injuries on Starbucks, saying that an employee didn’t wedge the scalding-hot tea firmly enough into a takeout tray.
“This jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility,” one of Garcia’s attorneys, Nick Rowley, said in a statement.
Starbucks said it sympathized with Garcia but planned to appeal.
“We disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive,” the Seattle-based coffee giant said in a statement to media outlets, adding that it was “committed to the highest safety standards” in handling hot drinks.
US eateries have faced lawsuits before over customer burns.
In one famous 1990s case, a New Mexico jury awarded a woman nearly $3 million in damages for burns she suffered while trying to pry the lid off a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-through. A judge later reduced the award, and the case ultimately was settled for an undisclosed sum under $600,000.
Juries have sided with restaurants at times, as in another 1990s case involving a child who tipped a cup of McDonald’s coffee onto himself in Iowa.