European Border Breakers Award

The EBBA Awards were launched by the European Commission[5] and are a European Union award.[6] Since 2009, the awards are organised by Eurosonic Noorderslag and the award is presented at the Eurosonic Noorderslag festival.[7]

• European Broadcasting Union (EBU)[8]
• The European Talent Exchange Program (ETEP), which creates a network between European popular music festivals, facilitating the booking of European bands from outside their home country.[8] It also gives information to the media about emerging European artists.[9]

EBBA Awards 2012 – All Winners

The artists or groups nominated for the European Border Breakers Awards are selected on the basis of the following criteria:

• The success of the first international release in European countries other than the home territory of the artist in the past year.
• Radio airplay given to an artist by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) radio channels.
• The artist's success at European festivals (ETEP) outside of his/her home country.[10]

Since 2010, an online vote takes place to choose which EBBA Award winner will receive the Public Choice Award, on top of the "regular" award.[11] The first winner was Belgian singer-songwriter Milow.[12] The German rock & roll band The Baseballs won in 2011.[13] Selah Sue from Belgium won the prize in 2012.[14]

Since 2009 the award ceremony takes place every year in January, during the Eurosonic Noorderslag festival, in the Dutch city of Groningen, presented by BBC host and musician Jools Holland.[11] EBBA Award winners perform live during the show, as well as during the festival itself. Winners from previous years are invited to perform as special guests. The ceremony is recorded by the public broadcaster NOS/NTR and broadcast through NPO 3.[15] The show is annually broadcast on several European television channels.

The EBBA Awards were initiated by the European Commission in 2004.[6] With the awards, the European Commission aims to stimulate the cross-border circulation of popular music repertoire and to highlight Europe's great musical diversity. The European Border Breakers Awards are supported through the Culture Programme of the European Union, which seeks to promote cross-border mobility of artists and culture professionals; to encourage the transnational circulation of cultural and artistic output; and to foster intercultural dialogue.[11]

• MTV Europe Music Award for Best European Act
• European Parliament Lux Prize

Wikimedia Commons has media related to European Border Breakers Award.

• Official website
• EBBA on the culture portal of the European Commission
• Website Eurosonic Noorderslag