ABC/Randy HolmesLast week, Metallica was honored with Sweden’s Polar Music Prize, also known as the “Nobel Prize of Music.” Winners of the prestigious distinction also receive a monetary award of one million Swedish kronor — currently about $113,500 — which Metallica is donating to three charities.
According to the Polar Music Prize Twitter, Metallica is donating 50% of the money to the Stockholm City Mission, a charity that assists the homeless, and 25% to the World Childhood Foundation, an organization founded by Sweden’s Queen Silvia to help vulnerable children. The final quarter will be donated to Metallica’s co-laureate for the 2018 Polar Music Prize, the Afghanistan National Institute of Music.
Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf awarded Metallica the 2018 Polar Music Prize during a ceremony in Stockholm last Thursday. Drummer Lars Ulrich and bassist Robert Trujillo were on hand to accept the award at a ceremony that included performances from several Swedish musicians, including Ghost frontman Tobias Forge.
Additionally, Roger Glover and Ian Paice of Deep Purple, whom Ulrich inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, read a speech introducing Metallica’s honor.
You can watch video highlights from the ceremony now on Metallica.com.
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