Smith ended her speech at the Teatro Campoamor on Friday, 23 October, by singing 'Wing' a cappella. She is close to turning eighty and said the award is an incentive to keep working and evolving.
Timothy Garton Ash said everything Europe achieved since 1945 is threatened in its existence. He pointed to the war in Ukraine, which he said has already lasted longer than the First World War.
Princess Leonor, who turns 21 on 31 October, spoke of conflicts, populism, hybrid wars and social media as challenges for young people. She called for confidence and humanism in response.
The 2026 Princess of Asturias Awards were handed out on Friday, 23 October, at the Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo, with Princess Leonor presenting the prizes. Patti Smith received the Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, Timothy Garton Ash the award for Social Sciences and Lionel Messi the award for Sports. According to El Mundo, the afternoon also honored Julian Barnes, astronaut Christina Koch, Studio Ghibli and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Several of the laureates attended the ceremony in person.
Speaking on behalf of all the laureates, Smith said she trusted the others would let her speak in their name because they felt united. She praised the range of the honorees, from Messi to Barnes and Koch, and said each had helped improve the wellbeing of the world. Smith, who is close to turning eighty, said the award gave her a moment to reflect on what she had achieved, but also served as an incentive to keep working and evolving. She thanked the Princess of Asturias Foundation for the chance to meet and act with young people face to face. She also noted that the week marked 50 years since her first performance in Spain, in Badalona.
In her closing remarks she told the audience what she hoped they would take home from the evening.
“We will all leave here with a greater prize than we had anticipated, that of lasting friendship.”
She ended by singing 'Wing' a cappella, a song whose lyrics refer to Spain, after saying that people together can change the world.
“We are the world that surrounds us, we can be the revolution of the earth.”
Timothy Garton Ash described 2005 as a moment when freedom, peace and European integration were expanding, and said Europe had never been closer to a united and free continent than at that time. He argued that everything the continent has achieved since 1945 is now threatened in its existence, pointing to a chain of economic, social and political crises and to a large-scale war in Ukraine that has already lasted longer than the First World War. Using football, he said Europe would be unbeatable if its nations, states and regions could combine diversity and unity the way a passing game combines individual talent with teamwork. He named three requirements for defending a free Europe, the first being a deep commitment to the search for truth and the second rebuilding trust through good policies and respected institutions. Addressing Princess Leonor directly, he said:
“The future of both Europe and freedom will depend increasingly on your generation of Europeans.”
Princess Leonor, who turns 21 on 31 October, answered the speeches with a reflection on young people's concerns. She opened by recalling 1981, when a note from María Zambrano greeted a 13-year-old Prince Felipe as the hope of a story beginning to unfold, and she set that Transition-era Spain against the complexity of today. She listed conflicts, populism, hybrid wars, technological uncertainty and social media as challenges, and called for confidence, humanism and a search for meaning. She praised Garton Ash's work on Europe's security and defense, and pointed to the craft of Studio Ghibli as an example of cinema's educational impact. She also praised Messi for respecting the collective essence above his own ego.
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Patti Smith closed her speech in Oviedo by singing 'Wing' a cappella, while Timothy Garton Ash said what Europe has achieved since 1945 is now under threat. Princess Leonor presented the prizes at the Teatro Campoamor on Friday, 23 October.
AI text based on reports by EL MUNDO, eldiario.es, RTVE.es and other publishers. Published .