| Bambi Award | |
|---|---|
 Statue of Bambi in Berlin, 2013 | |
| Awarded for | Excellence in international media and television |
| Country | Germany |
| Presented by | Hubert Burda Media |
| Website | bambi-awards |
TheBambi,[1] often called theBambi Award and stylised asBAMBI, is a German award presented annually byHubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and other fields "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year", both domestic and foreign. First held in 1948, it is the oldest media award in Germany. The trophy is named afterFelix Salten's 1923 bookBambi, a Life in the Woods and its statuettes are in the shape of the novel's titular fawn character.[2] They were originally made ofporcelain until 1958, when the organizers switched to using gold, with the casting done by the art casting workshop of Ernst Strassacker inSüßen.
Frequent awardees includeHeinz Rühmann (12),Peter Alexander,O. W. Fischer, andJohannes Heesters (10),Sophia Loren (9),Maria Schell (8),Rock Hudson (6),Franz Beckenbauer,Pierre Brice (5), andCéline Dion (3).[3]
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The Bambi originated in 1942. The first prize winners were actorsJean Marais andMarika Rökk, as well as the DEFA-director Prof.Kurt Maetzig. His movieEhe im Schatten (Marriage in the Shadows) was chosen as the best German film. At the 60th jubilee of the Bambi in 2008, the co-founder of theDEFA, who celebrated his 100th birthday on 25 January 2011, received a duplicate of a porcelain Bambi, because the original had been broken.
The award trophy was at first a fawn made of white porcelain, which was produced in theMajolika Manufaktur inKarlsruhe by the sculptor Else Bach (1899–1952). Since 1958, the golden-bronze deer has been produced in the art foundry of Ernst Strassacker in the Swabian village ofSüßen. According toMarika Rökk's daughter, the name "Bambi" is attributed to her because she had said to her mother, after she brought the prize home: "Oh, you brought a Bambi for me", inspired by the bookBambi byFelix Salten or the 1942Disney film of the same name.
The Bambi Awards were presented inKarlsruhe between 1948 and 1964, and afterwards in other cities such asBerlin andOffenburg.
In 2002,Michael Jackson won the Pop Artist of the Millennium Award andAnastacia won the Best Newcomer Award. In 2003 and 2004, the awards ceremony took place in the Theater am Hafen in Hamburg. The 2006 Bambi was awarded in the Mercedes-Benz Welt inStuttgart, hosted by entertainerHarald Schmidt and modelEva Padberg. In 2007, the ceremony was held in the Congress Center in Düsseldorf (CCD), and in 2008 in Offenburg. Both events were presented byHarald Schmidt. Award recipients in 2009 included Colombian singer/songwriter and choreographerShakira, actressKate Winslet, Austrian actorChristoph Waltz, andGiorgio Armani, whose niece Roberta Armani accepted the award for him.[4] Shakira performed her single "Did It Again" before accepting her award. The ceremonies of 2009 and 2010 were held in the Metropolis-Hall in Potsdam-Babelsberg. In 2014, theCrown Princess Mary of Denmark received a Bambi in the charity category for her extensive work for women's rights.[5][6]
Bambi Awards are judged byHubert Burda and the editors-in-chief atHubert Burda Media.[2]
