1990s 1994–1999 1994: The first Europe Music Awards took place in Berlin, Germany, at the
Brandenburg Gate and were held on 24 November 1994, five years after the
fall of the Berlin Wall. Hosted by
Tom Jones, the show featured performances by
Aerosmith,
Ace of Base,
Björk,
Roxette,
Take That and
George Michael, who performed "
Jesus to a Child" and "
Freedom" surrounded by many famous
models including
Naomi Campbell. Presenters included
East 17,
Jean Paul Gaultier,
Pamela Anderson and
Helena Christensen, who kissed
INXS's
Michael Hutchence live on stage.
Bono received the
Free Your Mind Award on behalf of
Amnesty International.
1995:
French nuclear testing in the
South Pacific got the most attention at the 1995 ceremony. During his acceptance speech after winning the award for
Best Rock,
Bon Jovi lead singer
Jon Bon Jovi stated, "The only enemy is ignorance. Peace, people. Let's get rid of all this nuclear testing", while
U2's
Bono said, "What a city, what a night, what a crowd, what a bomb, what a mistake, what a wanker you have for a President." referring to nuclear testing.
Greenpeace, the environmental group that has staged creative and controversial protests around the testing site at
Mururoa Atoll, took the
Free Your Mind award for its campaign against the
underground nuclear blasts. "Stop abusing the Earth," urged
Madonna in a videotaped segment before designer
agnès b. picked up the award for
Greenpeace. in London, venue in 1996.
1996: During their performance
Metallica performed the songs "
Last Caress" and "
So What?" instead of performing their single "
King Nothing" as scheduled. The MTV executives told the band that they weren't allowed to use any curse words during their time on live TV, and upset with the scripted, family-friendly MTV antics, Metallica simply played non-TV friendly songs. The song "
So What?" is known for its amount of expletives and references to
bestiality among many other controversial lyrics while "
Last Caress" has lyrics pertaining to murder and rape. As a result of their performance Metallica's performance and references to Metallica have been removed from future broadcasts of the ceremony.
1997:
U2 opened the show performing "
Mofo" dressed in boxing gowns.
The Prodigy were the big winners of the night, receiving three awards including
Best Video.
Björk became the first artist to be nominated in the category of
Best Female for four consecutive years. The
Landmine Survivors Network received the
Free Your Mind Award for helping survivors to recover from war, rebuild their communities, and break cycles of violence.
1998: Six new categories were introduced that year, including the MTV Selects;
UK & Ireland, Northern, Central and Southern.
Faithless opened the show with "
God is a DJ" and
Madonna performed "
The Power of Goodbye". The big winner of the night were the
Spice Girls and Madonna with two awards each.
Melanie C and
Emma Bunton collected the trophy on behalf of the group. On receiving the award, Mel C shouted, "We've done it again. And a big hello from the other two", referring to
Mel B and
Victoria Adams, both of whom were pregnant and did not attend the ceremony.
The Prodigy won
Best Dance but according to their frontman,
Liam Howlett, they had not done anything to deserve the accolade that year.
1999:
Britney Spears was the big winner of the night winning four awards, including
Best New Act and
Best Song for "
...Baby One More Time". She also performed during the ceremony, entertaining the crowd with a medley of her songs "...Baby One More Time" and "
(You Drive Me) Crazy". The Free Your Mind Award, which honours an individual or organisation for aiding in humanitarian efforts and fighting prejudice, was given to
Bono for his world peace work.
Puff Daddy performed "My Best Friend" backed by a full gospel choir, followed by
Iggy Pop, who stagedived into the crowd during the track "
Lust for Life".
Whitney Houston sang a medley of "Get It Back" and "
My Love Is Your Love", while Mariah Carey performed "
Heartbreaker".
Marilyn Manson, who wore nothing but a
G-string, closed the show with a performance of "
Rock Is Dead".
2000s 2000–2004 2000: The show was hosted by
Fugees's
Wyclef Jean, who presented a variety of stars and outfits, including one consisting of boxer shorts only, after he jumped into the crowd and had his red leather suit ripped from him. The performance of the
Spice Girls during the ceremony was the last before their breakup. The most elaborate appearance was probably by
Jennifer Lopez, who literally landed on stage in an aeroplane. The performance was a world premiere of her new song, "
Love Don't Cost a Thing", taken from her forthcoming album,
J.Lo.
Madonna paid tribute to fellow performer
Kylie Minogue by appearing on stage in a
T-shirt bearing the name "Kylie". Madonna performed
Music (Madonna song), one month after giving birth to son, Rocco, with a screen background of clips reminiscent of her long career.
Sacha Baron Cohen made his career debut during the ceremony whilst introducing Madonna. Political issues were present as well during the night, with
Nick Carter from
Backstreet Boys speaking against a recount of votes in the
U.S. presidential election.
Robbie Williams won Best Song for "
Rock DJ", but he told the audience: "I am not going to say anything bad about people's choices on this one, but I think it's a terrible song and a silly song." He also referred to his roots in Stoke-on-Trent, saying: "When I was growing up I dreamt of being a pop star and I would like to thank MTV for my three houses, my five cars and my supermodel girlfriend." , venue in 2001 and 2012.
2001: The ceremony was the first entertainment broadcasts following the
September 11th attacks in
New York City. When
Damon Albarn and
Jamie Hewlett from
Gorillaz walked onto stage to make a speech, Albarn sported a T-shirt with the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament logo on it. Albarn, in a response to the
recent invasion of Afghanistan said "So, fuck the music. Listen. See this symbol here, [pointing to the tee shirt] this the symbol for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Bombing one of the poorest countries in the world is wrong. You've got a voice and you have got to do what you can about it allright?"
Fred Durst took the stage with
Wes Scantlin and
Jimmy Page to perform the classic
Led Zeppelin's song "
Thank You".
2002: One of the highlights was the offer made by host
Puff Daddy giving away a lush
ring to the first woman to undress on stage. A lady took the stage take off her clothes and won the ring. When
Moby came on stage to collect the award for
Best Website he wished the best wishes to
Eminem, showing that he bore no grudge after the confrontation on the
2002 MTV Video Music Awards.
Robbie Williams and
Whitney Houston performed their songs "
Feel" and "
Whatchulookinat" for the first time ever.
Enrique Iglesias performed an acoustic version of his single "
Maybe" and then a rock version of the track "
Love to See You Cry" done to the music of
Billy Idol's "
White Wedding".
2003: During the pre-show,
Christina Aguilera refused to walk the red carpet if
Kelly Osbourne, a guest VJ for the event, was present. Kelly responded by calling Aguilera's music "
crap" and saying she was a "
cow." Later, a skit was aired of
Christina Aguilera throwing
darts at a board decorated with a picture of
Kelly Osbourne. This irked the
Ozzy offspring, who voiced her disapproval when she came onstage to present an award. Kelly stated, "If
Christina Aguilera has to resort to throwing darts at my head after everything she's achieved and everything she's done, then she's a really sad, sorry person". Aguilera later retorted with a voice of mock sympathy, saying "Honey, if you can dish it out, you've got to learn how to take it back". During
Travis' performance of "
The Beautiful Occupation" an assembly of nude protesters marched onstage with signs that covered their private areas. At the end of the song, they lifted the signs. While near at the end of performing "
Baby Boy",
Beyoncé and
Sean Paul both were up on stage when their backing track suffered a technical difficulty. This went on for a near minute in which both artist and dancers exited the stage while the error went on. This also left confusion among presenter Christina Aguilera, who walked on stage to continue hosting which ended the backing track error. Both artists later decided to retake the performance again. The retake would later replace re-airings of the show and would be the first show to extend time with this retake.
2004: The show was held at
Tor di Valle Racecourse in Rome. The outdoor stage was situated in front of the
Colosseum, where artists such as
Eminem,
Franz Ferdinand,
Beastie Boys, and
Anastacia performed to an attendance of over 400,000 people.
Outkast received both Best Song and Best Video for their track "
Hey Ya!". Other multiple winners include
Usher and
Muse with two awards each. Presenters on the night included
Jamelia,
Alicia Keys,
N.E.R.D,
Naomi Campbell,
Andre 3000,
Kid Rock and
Kanye West.
2005–2009 2005 :
Madonna opened the show in a giant disco ball performing "
Hung Up".
Sacha Baron Cohen hosted the ceremony as
Borat Sagdiyev, who greeted the audience by saying "Welcome to the
2005 Eurovision Song Contest" and referring to Madonna, he stated, "It was very courageous of MTV to start the show with a genuine
transvestite".
Gorillaz used hologram-style technology to beam three-dimensional performing cartoon characters on stage. Madonna returned to the stage to present the
Free Your Mind Award to
Bob Geldof. "You drive me crazy, but tonight you are everyone's hero," she said. He replied: "This means much more to me than many of the other things that are given to me". in Copenhagen, venue in 2006.
2006: The 13th Europe Music Awards was hosted by
Justin Timberlake, who received
Best Male and
Best Pop. Timberlake joked that he only won because he agreed to present the event in Copenhagen.
Depeche Mode said, "A big thank you to the fans and a big thank you to MTV for playing our videos for twenty-five years", after winning the award for
Best Group. British comedian
Sacha Baron Cohen entertained the audience with his English-mangling character
Borat and poked fun at
Madonna who was at the time trying to adopt an African child adding: "My only concern is that this singing transvestite will not be such a good father." Despite winning the award for
Best Hip-Hop,
Kanye West apparently was so disappointed at not winning for
Best Video that he crashed the stage when the award was being presented to
Justice and
Simian for "We Are Your Friends". In a tirade riddled with expletives,
Kanye West said he should have won the prize for his video "
Touch the Sky", because it "cost a million dollars,
Pamela Anderson was in it. I was jumping across canyons." He further said, "If I don't win, the awards show loses credibility".
2007:
Foo Fighters opened the show and front man
Dave Grohl hosted the backstage area, interviewing celebrities live on air. Other performances on the night came from
Amy Winehouse,
Foo Fighters,
Babyshambles,
My Chemical Romance,
Avril Lavigne, and
Mika.
will.i.am paired up with
Nicole Scherzinger from the
Pussycat Dolls to perform their duet "
Baby Love".
Pete Doherty surprised his critics by being on great form for the whole show in preparation for his performance with
Babyshambles. The show was closed by
Tokio Hotel, who were booed but given a standing ovation after their performance in the rain. The show received a total of 78 million votes, the most in Europe Music Awards history.
2008:
Rick Astley was named
Best Act Ever after an online campaign to orchestrate votes.
Britney Spears was the big winner of the night winning
Best Album and
Best Act. She did not attend the show but recorded a couple videos thanking her fans.
Paul McCartney was awarded with the Ultimate Legend given by
Bono. After picking up his honour, Sir Paul settled for thanking friends, family and bandmates
Ringo Starr,
George Harrison and
John Lennon. "Many years ago, four little boys were born here in
Liverpool and we went on to do quite well," he added. "So thanks, as I say, to all my family, to all of you for coming along, everyone in Liverpool, everyone in Britain, everyone in America – for voting in Mr Obama. I love you!" The show contained numerous references to
Barack Obama, most notably when
Kanye West and
Estelle finished their song "
American Boy" with the
US President-elect's face projected onto a giant screen behind them.
Jared Leto,
Shannon Leto and
Tomo Miličević from
Thirty Seconds to Mars wore Obama T-shirts, and Jared Leto also asked the crowd to stand in honour of the Democratic senator. Amid cheers, he said: "Liverpool, lets hear it for Barack Obama." Host
Katy Perry remarked, "Maybe Europe will love us again now." in Berlin, venue in 2009.
2009: Returning for the second time as host, Katy Perry opened the show and performed a medley of the nominees for Best Song. The
Jonas Brothers introduced a tribute to
Michael Jackson performed by Michael's fans in front of the
Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
U2 and
Jay-Z performed "
Sunday Bloody Sunday" in front of the Brandenburg Gate with Jay-Z freestyling over the performance and rapped in the lyrics from
Bob Marley's "
Get Up, Stand Up".
Beyoncé won three awards, the most awards that night.
Pete Wentz was the host for the show webcast.
2010s 2010–2014 2010: The event was hosted by
Eva Longoria, who had thirteen outfit changes, one of which was shaped like a huge Spanish ham. She introduced the crowd to a gang of hunks, pretending they were family.
Lady Gaga was the big winner of the night – she won while performing in
The Monster Ball Tour from Budapest, in Hungary, she thanked her fans via satellite after receiving Best Female, Best Song and Best Pop.
Thirty Seconds to Mars opened the event at the pre-show featuring surprise guest
Kanye West at the
Puerta de Alcalá.
Bon Jovi received the first ever Global Icon Award. During her acceptance speech for Best New Act,
Kesha directly addressed her fans, saying: "Hopefully I can inspire you to give your finger to the cynics and fucking be yourself!". Newly married singer Katy Perry won Best Video for "
California Gurls" and came to the event with her husband
Russell Brand. This was the couple's first public appearance together as husband and wife. The event would also be remembered for the antics of
Johnny Knoxville along with
The Dudesons. in Belfast, venue in 2011.
2011: The show was held in
Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the city's
Odyssey Arena and hosted by
Selena Gomez. For the second consecutive year, Lady Gaga was the biggest winner with four awards out of six nominations; she received Biggest Fans and Best Female, as well as Best Song and Best Video for "
Born This Way".
Queen received the Global Icon Award, and the band closed the awards ceremony, with
Adam Lambert on vocals, performing "
The Show Must Go On", "
We Will Rock You" and "
We Are the Champions". There was also a tribute to
Amy Winehouse, which was introduced by
Jessie J. It was revealed that for the event MTV received 154 million votes from people around the globe.
Hayden Panettiere's presentation of the award for Best Song was briefly interrupted by a streaker who joined her onstage.
2012: The event was hosted by
Heidi Klum and
Ludacris, and held in Frankfurt at the city's
Festhalle Frankfurt, for the second time in the history of the awards. The show saw the addition of new regional categories to compete in the
Best Worldwide Act.
Taylor Swift,
Han Geng,
Justin Bieber and
One Direction were the biggest winners of the night, taking home three awards each. The show featured performances from
Muse, Taylor Swift,
No Doubt,
Carly Rae Jepsen,
Alicia Keys, and
The Killers, among others. There was also a tribute to
Whitney Houston, which was introduced by Alicia Keys. Houston was also awarded with the Global Icon Award.
2013: The event took place in Amsterdam, at the city's
Ziggo Dome. Several performances of the main show were performed at different locations in the city than the Ziggo Dome.
Eminem was the big winner of the night, winning his eighth
Best Hip-Hop and receiving the Global Icon Award. He then performed the songs "
Berzerk" and "
Rap God". The show also included a controversial moment, when
Miley Cyrus received Best Video for "
Wrecking Ball". The singer appeared to light up a joint on stage while accepting the award.
2014: It was the second time the awards took place in Scotland and overall the fifth time United Kingdom has hosted the show since 2011 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Ariana Grande opened the show, hosted by
Nicki Minaj, with "
Problem" and "
Break Free".
One Direction and
5 Seconds of Summer were the big winners of the night receiving three awards each, though both artists were unable to attend the show, and despite them sending pre-recorded videos to thank their fans, their absence was met with some boos.
Ozzy Osbourne received the Global Icon Award from
Slash. Slash later closed the show performing "
Crazy Train", along with The Conspirators,
Simon Neil from
Biffy Clyro and
Myles Kennedy, as a tribute to him.
2015–2019 2015: The show, hosted by
Ed Sheeran and
Ruby Rose, was for the first time held in October. It took place at the
Mediolanum Forum in
Assago, near Milan. Throughout the second half of the year, Milan also hosted
Expo 2015, which was a partner of the 2015 Europe Music Awards. In association with the event,
MTV Italy organised an event called Music Week. Two concerts were held in
Piazza del Duomo, one of which was related to
MTV World Stage. International and Italian acts performed on both nights, including
Ellie Goulding,
Marco Mengoni,
Duran Duran,
Martin Garrix and
Afrojack. Duran Duran was awarded the first ever Video Visionary Award. Over 500 million votes were cast for the event.
Justin Bieber won six awards, becoming the most awarded artist of the night. In addition, it was the first award show to be aired with virtual reality.
2016: During the ceremony, host
Bebe Rexha revealed the trophies had been turned purple in memory of
Prince, who died early that year. Multiple winners of the night included
Lady Gaga,
Twenty One Pilots,
Shawn Mendes and
Martin Garrix.
Green Day were awarded with the Global Icon Award for their contribution to music. Collecting their award, Green Day frontman
Billie Joe Armstrong said it was "nice to be out of America just for a second because of this horrendous election that's going on right now", referring to the
2016 United States presidential election that saw
Donald Trump being elected as the 45th president of the United States. He further said, "our entire country is about to have one big collective heart attack" and then the band performed the song "
American Idiot".
2017: The show was hosted in London for the first time in 21 years. It was presented by British singer
Rita Ora. Mayor
Sadiq Khan attended the show, as he helped bring the event to the capital as part of his LondonIsOpen campaign.
Eminem opened the ceremony with a performance of the song "
Walk on Water" featuring
Skylar Grey. The performance garnered mixed reactions due to the absence of
Beyoncé, who provided additional vocals on the original track. During his acceptance speech after winning the award for
Best Alternative,
Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman
Jared Leto made a remark at American President Donald Trump's
immigration policy as he stated: "We are Americans – a land of immigrants – and we just want to say that we welcome you with open arms and with open hearts, and we love you."
U2, who performed a free gig at London's
Trafalgar Square, received the Global Icon Award. A clip of George Michael's performance of Freedom at the 1994 MTV EMAs aired as an in memoriam segment, featuring Michael, Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington and Tom Petty
2018: The show was hosted by
Academy Award-nominated actress and singer
Hailee Steinfeld, who also performed "
Back to Life" during the ceremony. It took place at the
Bizkaia Arena, part of the
Bilbao Exhibition Centre complex near
Bilbao, Spain. Other performers included
Nicki Minaj,
Little Mix,
flamenco star
Rosalía,
Bebe Rexha,
Jack & Jack,
Jason Derulo,
David Guetta,
Marshmello or
Panic! at the Disco, whose singer climbed down the venue's wall before emerging from the ceiling.
Camila Cabello won four awards, becoming the most awarded artist of the night.
Janet Jackson was awarded with the Global Icon Award, and collecting her award, Jackson dedicated her speech to "women's voices who have been stifled", stating she is "one of those women" and calling them to "speak up for justice".
2019: The show was hosted in
Seville, Spain, making it the first time that a country hosted back-to-back editions of the award show.
Dua Lipa opened the show with a performance of her song "
Don't Start Now" accompanied by dozens of female dancers. Other performers included
Halsey,
Rosalía,
Niall Horan,
Mabel,
Ava Max,
Green Day, and
Becky G, who was also the host for the ceremony. Boy band
NCT 127 became the first
K-pop act to perform at the MTV EMAs. Former
Oasis frontman
Liam Gallagher received the specially created Rock Icon Award. The night also saw
Taylor Swift,
FKA Twigs,
Martin Garrix,
Nicki Minaj,
Billie Eilish and
Shawn Mendes send out pre-recorded messages after winning their respective awards as they were absent from the event.
2020s 2020–2025 2020: The ceremony was hosted on 8 November. Due to the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the show was held for the first time ever virtually and the performances were filmed in various locations around the world. The ceremony was hosted by
Little Mix, but only three members of the group,
Perrie Edwards,
Leigh-Anne Pinnock and
Jade Thirlwall, appeared;
Jesy Nelson did not participate for health reasons. The event featured performances from
Little Mix,
Doja Cat (who performed a Rock version of her hit single "
Say So"),
David Guetta,
yungblud,
Sam Smith and
DaBaby. South Korean Pop group
BTS were the biggest winners of the night as they claimed 4 awards from the 5 categories they nominated in. Other winners of the night included
Coldplay (for Best Rock),
Hayley Williams of
Paramore (for Best Alternative),
Karol G (for Best Collaboration and Best Latin),
DJ Khaled (for Best Video) and
Doja Cat (for Best New) who also sent pre-recorded video messages to thank their fans. Later that evening, Formula One Driver
Lewis Hamilton delivered a speech that touched upon the importance of music and how it remains a unifying force that brings hope and solidarity during a rather chaotic and challenging year. He then proceeded to present the Video For Good Award which went to
H.E.R. 2021: The ceremony was held in
Budapest,
Hungary, in spite of the controversy triggered by the
anti-LGBT law promoted by the Hungarian government. Chris McCarthy, CEO of MTV Entertainment Group Worldwide, explained that despite the law MTV decided not to move the show to promote through its support for the country's
LGBT community.
2022: The ceremony was held at the
PSD Bank Dome in
Düsseldorf, Germany on 13 November, hosted by
Rita Ora and
Taika Waititi.
Taylor Swift attended the EMAs for the first time in 10 years, and won 4 awards including Best Video and Best Artist. The show also included performances from
Ava Max,
Bebe Rexha and
Gayle.
2023: The ceremony would have been held in Paris for the first time since 1995. It was cancelled on 19 October due to the
Gaza war; the winning artists would receive their awards at a later date.
2024: The ceremony was held at the
Co-op Live in
Manchester, United Kingdom on 10 November, hosted by Rita Ora. In it, Rita paid tribute to her friend and
One Direction legend
Liam Payne.
2025: Several MTV events worldwide, including the EMAs, are paused for 2025 as
Paramount Global attempts to close its
merger with Skydance Media, along with a number of MTV's European networks closing throughout 2024 and into 2025 due to network cuts and ratings struggles. ==List of ceremonies==