The Danish European Movement have been honoring worthy European folk for years now with the “European of the Year” award. Every year, the winner is someone who has united Europe through politics, literature and this year, music. In previous years, the title has fell into the hands of Günter Grass, Prince Henrik of Denmark and Chancellor Angela Merkel!
For the first time, the prestigious honor has been awarded to a Eurovision winner, the beautiful Miss Emmelie De Forest. She’s no stranger to being honored by the Danish people, as they even dedicated an exhibition to her in their National Museum this year. But humble as ever, Emmelie credited her win to the spirit of Eurovision and the European people.
“I am so happy, proud and honored. Some formidable people have previously won the prize so it means a lot to me. The Eurovision Song Contest embraces all of Europe and even though it is a competition, you can see that it gathers Europeans for a party”
According to the leader of the Danish European Movement Jens Bo Andersen, “This year we think it was important to send a signal that the EU is not just politics but also culture and music. That’s where the Eurovision Song Contest is fantastic! It brings Europeans together and Emmelie’s victory shows that little Denmark can also both bring together and contribute in another aspect aside from politically”
We agree! All of this glory hasn’t taken Emmelie’s eye off the ball as she plans to go to the USA very soon to continue writing songs for her new album. Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to hear them in Copenhagen?
Katie Wilson contributed this story from the U.K. Follow her on Twitter at @katiewillfly and like our Facebook page to keep up with the latest Eurovision news and gossip.
Photo: Eurovision.tv (EBU)
Interesting that a Eurovision winner was awarded alongside political figures! Awesome they focused on music for that award.