In the HERO category, Sting is an artist who not only has an unmistakable voice and has written some of the most everlasting hits of the past 40 years - he is honored by a world star whose decades of political and social commitment are convincing.

Gordon Matthew Sumner, as Sting is called by his real name, is one of the great musicians and songwriters in the history of rock'n'roll and also a successful actor and committed activist. Sting began his career in 1977 with The Police. In the following years he recorded with the band five groundbreaking albums, four of which are listed in the Rolling Stone list of the 500 best albums of all time.

After the break up of The Police, Sting succeeded in his subsequent international solo career. Most recently, in May of this year, he released the album "My Songs", which includes reinterpretations of classics like 'Desert Rose' or 'Roxanne', and will be re-released on November 8th as a Special Edition / Live album.

With The Police and solo, Sting has sold over 350 million albums, he has been awarded 17 Grammys, in 2003 he was honored by the Queen as "Commander of the British Empire" for his musical work.

With his "Rainforest Foundation Fund" founded in 1987, Sting is continuously committed to the conservation of the rainforest, together with Amnesty International, he devotes himself intensively to projects for the protection of human rights, especially in China. In the summer of 2019, Sting criticized the environmental policies of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in light of the forest fires in the Amazon region.

"It's been more than 40 years since Sting started his brilliant world career with The Police. Today everyone knows his hits, 'Message In A Bottle', 'Every Breath You Take' or 'Englishman In New York'. They have been covered, orchestrated and sampled, they are part of the pop culture heritage, "said Sebastian Zabel, editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone. "The fact that Sting repeatedly proves socio-political commitment in addition to his artistic work, is committed to the preservation of the rainforest and the release of political prisoners, is hardly to credit him high enough.”

The IMA will honour Sting at the award show on November 22, 2019 in Berlin's Verti Music Hall for his lifetime achievement. Sting will personally accept the prize as part of a live performance.

Tickets are available now from 29 Euro at all known ticket outlets and at https://www.eventim.de/artist/international-music-award/.

(c) Rolling Stone