On Thursday 23 May 2024, the organisers of the 2024 European Cultural Awards, set to take place in Luxembourg on Friday 7 June 2024, have announced that Italian screen star Ornella Muti will count among the winners on the evening.

European music, television and film industry will meet in the Philharmonie on the Kirchberg Plateau for the 2024 European Cultural Awards. The now 69-year-old cinema star Ornella Muti will be honoured. She has already won several awards: the Bambi, the Jupiter and the Nastro d'Argento.

The Italian actress made some appearances in Hollywood, with Sylvester Stallone, alongside Jeremy Irons or in the film adaptation of the novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold based on Gabriel Garcia Marquez. She also starred in the four-part series The Count of Monte Cristo and in the 1980 Science Fiction film film Flash Gordon. Ornella Muti will be celebrated for her accomplishments and her dedication to social causes by RTL television and radio presenter and celebrity authority Frauke Ludowig.

Big names in music

Traditionally, outstanding musical personalities are also honoured at the European Culture Prize Gala. The other winners of the evening include not only the Irish rocker legend Ronan Keating, pop icon Anastacia and this year's Luxembourg ESC participant Tali Golergant, who performed her contest song “Fighter” on the concert stage of the Philharmonie Luxembourg. TALI also acclaims another strong woman in music across genres who leads the list of awarded classical music stars: Lisa Batiashvili. A particularly bright star in the violin sky for over two decades and in demand by the best orchestras worldwide, the Georgian star violinist is increasingly committed to supporting young people in the music scene. In addition to the award-winning Egyptian opera singer Fatma Said, both artists will perform for the first time together with the Luxembourg Philharmonic, which will be honoured together with the Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra.

A vocal star of a completely different ilk also comes from Mexico: Rolando Villazón, who also specialised in other musical styles apart from classical music, is considered by many to be the ideal prototype of a characterful singer-actor. He will be honoured in Luxembourg for his life's work. The other nominees of the evening will include the Vienna Boys' Choir together with the Vienna Girls’ Choir, the former President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker and, last but not least, Her Royal Highness, Maria Teresa. The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, accompanied by her husband, Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Henri, will be honoured for her social commitment.

The programme design has set standards to break down the traditional concept of culture across generations. Time and again, artists come together musically who would otherwise rarely meet on a concert stage. Famous rock stars, for example, perform regularly and once with renowned orchestras. The European Cultural Forum, as the organiser of the Culture Prize Gala, represents a very broad concept of culture to introduce young audiences to classics, to inspire them with tradition and yet to dare to try something new.

A reliable partner for supporting culture, Klemens Hallmann, also feels committed to this task. As the main partner, presenter and member of the board of trustees of the European Cultural Forum, he has supported the awarding of the European Cultural Prizes for years: “Especially now, in these challenging times, art and culture play an even greater role as a connection between people and countries. Music, drama, visual arts and theatre stimulate thought, provide inspiration and a person with different views. For me, the European Cultural Awards are an opportunity to support the cultural landscape on our continent and at the same time to promote young talent and support peaceful coexistence between countries and cultures.”

The European Cultural Prize honours personalities, initiatives, artists, politicians and institutions for their outstanding merits and achievements around Europe and its people. The aim of the European Cultural Forum as the organiser is to promote friendship between European peoples, a modern cult to help shape the original concept and to link different genres with each other. In recent years, metropolises such as Hamburg, Vienna, Zurich and Dresden have hosted, among others, the tenor Jonas Kaufmann, the soprano Anja Harteros, the cellist Sol Gabetta, the European Union Youth Orchestra, screen legend Sophia Loren, the designer Vivienne Westwood and the politician Michael Gorbachev and Hans-Dietrich Genscher.

Tickets are available at https://europaeischer-kulturpreis.de/luxemburg/#tickets.