Musical icons Herbie Hancock, Queen, and Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan were awarded this year's Polar Music Prize on Tuesday night, joining the illustrious ranks of previous winners including Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Ravi Shankar, and Miriam Makeba.

The awards were presented by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at a gala event in Stockholm, with each awardee receiving 1 million Swedish kronor (a little over 100k USD) in prize money. Performers at the ceremony included Esperanza Spalding and Robert Glasper, pianists Leo Genovese and Bertrand Chamayou, Swedish artists Ghost, Miriam Bryant and Erik Grönwall, and current Queen frontman Adam Lambert.

"The Polar Music Prize is exceptional in the fact that unlike other awards it recognises the entirety of an artiste’s career," said Queen's Roger Taylor on receiving the award. "What an honour to be included in the glittering cavalcade of previous laureates. True Olympian company indeed. We are so proud to be the recipients of this incredibly prestigious award."

Both Barbara Hannigan and Herbie Hancock professed to being "humbled" by being awarded the Polar Music Prize. Hancock added:

"I accept this award not just for myself, but on behalf of all the musicians, and dreamers who dare to believe that creativity and human connection can change the world. I truly believe that music and the arts can illuminate the path towards a more peaceful and compassionate world, and it is vital that we, the artists, give back and share our knowledge and experiences with the younger generations, our leaders of tomorrow."

The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by Stig 'Stikkan' Anderson, who was manager, publisher, and sometime lyricist for ABBA. Find out more at www.polarmusicprize.org.