German Radio Prize 2021: Star line-up and charity at the gala in Hamburg

German Radio Prize 2021
Star line-up and charity at the gala in Hamburg

Grit Leithäuser from Radiozentrale, Barbara Schöneberger and Kelvin Jones at the German Radio Prize 2021 (from left to right)

© Benjamin Hüllenkremer / German Radio Prize

Glamorous gala despite Corona: Duran Duran stood on stage at the German Radio Prize 2021, Barbara Schöneberger led through the evening.

In terms of glamor, the gala for this year’s German Radio Prize 2021 tied in with the pre-Corona times – among other things, because Barbara Schöneberger (47) moderated the event. But also musical star guests like Duran Duran and well-known laudators like Marcel Reif (71) and Christoph Maria Herbst (55) gave the event in Hamburg that certain touch. As usual, prizes were awarded for outstanding achievements and innovations on German radio.

Special price for flood reporting

As the best newcomer: Gloria Grünwald was awarded by EgoFM, for the best podcast Stephan Ziegert and Ina Lebedjew were chosen for “Back to Topic”, in which they explain the background to current topics. The award for the best program went to “100 Years of Radio” on Bayern 1 with Tobias Prager and Marcus Fahn. The best moderator: Sümeyra Kaya was named by WDR COSMO, who was able to convince the jury with her interviews and her open manner.

The organizers had already announced the special award for Radio Wuppertal for reporting during the flood disaster. Although affected by the flood, the local broadcaster started a special broadcast on July 14th, until it had to be canceled on the morning of July 15th due to the widespread power failure.

Duran Duran play new song

The musical guests were the British pop legends Duran Duran, who performed both their new title “Anniversary” and their world hit “Ordinary World”. “We owe a lot to the radio and that is why our appearance at the German Radio Prize is all the more important for us,” said singer Simon Le Bon (62) about his appearance. Even in the run-up, the anticipation was great to “present these two very special songs to the audience,” continued Le Bon.

The singer / songwriter Rag’n’Bone Man (36) also performed his songs “All You Ever Wanted” and “Crossfire”. For him, the two most important things for his career are live music and radio, according to the Briton. The performance was a particular pleasure for him because it had already arrived in the mainstream in Germany when it was not even known in England. Nathan Evans (26), Zoe Wees (19), Revolverheld, Johannes Oerding (39) and Wincent Weiss (28) also played on the stage of the Schuppen 52 event center in front of the backdrop of the Port of Hamburg.

100,000 euros in donations through the music project “Best of Us”

The two charity associations “Viva con Agua” and “Aktion Mensch” also received donations from the “Best of Us” project at the gala. With the help of the song of the same name, the supergroup WIER, which consists of 18 prominent artists such as Nico Santos, Sasha, Christina Stürmer, Glasperlenspiel or Milow, has been able to collect a total of 100,000 euros since its release in 2020. The managing director of the Radiozentrale, Grit Leithäuser, pop singers Kelvin Jones and Barbara Schöneberger presented the donations on the red carpet before the start of the gala.

According to Leithäuser, the artists want to use the song to “send a common signal of confidence”. This is very important in the current time, “when so many things happen around us and in our society,” said Leithäuser, whose radio headquarters initiated the song together with the German radio landscape. Nico Santos was also enthusiastic: “When we wrote the song back then, we never expected that so many artists would jump up. Thank you for that!”

The German Radio Prize for the best radio producers in Germany has existed since 2010. The NDR is in charge of the organization every year. The gala was broadcast both live on the radio as well as via stream on the Internet. The German Radio Prize was also shown on television with a slight delay, including NDR, HR and MDR.

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