Monty Python narrowly misses out on Prince of Asturias Award

The Premios Príncipe de Asturias (Prince of Asturias awards) are an annual event in the Spanish calendar when the Prince of Asturias foundation awards prizes to all types of individuals and groups across the globe for their contributions to humanity and the heritage of mankind. The awards have been given annually since 1981, making this year’s ceremony in Oviedo, Spain, the 31st edition.

There are a total of 8 categories, all of which receive many nominations: Arts, Communication and Humanities, Literary Art, Sport, Social Sciences, Scientific Investigation, International Cooperation and ‘Concord’ (Peace and Harmony). This makes for a wide variety of nominations for all types of projects and contributions. What is also interesting is that the prizes can be awarded to individuals, groups, associations or even entire cities! The city of Berlin won the Peace and Harmony award in 2009, for example, for 20 years of peace after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

This year the nominations were once again very diverse, but one of the candidates that received a lot of attention was the British group of comedians who created the world famous Monty Python series. They were nominated in the Arts category and received praise from one member of the jury, Amelia Valcárcel, a Spanish philosopher, saying that sense of humour is a vital part of humankind. However, there were a total of 35 candidates for this award, including the Cuban dancer Alicia Alonso, Argentine musicians Les Luthiers and Japanese architect Toyoo Ito, and the award was eventually given to Italian conductor Riccardo Muti, for his 20 years of work with the Scala de Milan orchestra.

So it wasn’t the Monty Python crew’s lucky day, but the awards nevertheless picked out an incredible range of talent and contributions to modern society. The arts award was the first category to be announced, the rest will follow throughout the next few months, something to look out for!