Carola received Sweden's prestigious King's medal from His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf during a ceremony held at the palace in Stockholm tonight. She received the prize for her initiatives as a singer and her contribution to Swedish music.
Carola was very pleased with the medal and told the press that she saw this as an acknowledgment of her work. While she has never won a Swedish Grammy Award, she said she felt this was a much better honour.
Swedish footballer Henrik Larsson, Christina Odenberg the first female Swedish Bishop and former Swedish parliament speaker Björn von Sydow were also among the twenty-six politicians, industrialists, sports stars, artists, entertainers and military and palace officials who were honoured tonight with a King's medal. The size of the medal and the type of attached chain or ribbon signifies different orders; Carola received a size eight medal with a royal blue ribbon. Six additional honourees received the Litteris et Artibus medal for significant contribution to literature and the arts.
Carola has been one of Sweden's top artists since that magic night in 1983 when she won Melodifestivalen with Främling and received the top mark from all juries. She has competed in the Eurovision Song Contest three times winning once in 1991.
