The official award ceremony will take place at the upcoming New Year's reception. It is associated with prize money of 2,500 euros, which is sponsored by Kreissparkasse Birkenfeld.
A total of nine individuals, associations and groups were nominated for this year's cultural award. The nominees represented a broad spectrum of cultural diversity in Idar-Oberstein. For the first time, the award was decided by a jury rather than the cultural committee. In addition to the Lord Mayor and the members of the Culture Committee, the jury also included a representative from each of the last three years' Culture Prize winners and a representative from the sponsor. At its meeting on Monday, the jury chose the band SpeedBottles as the winner of this year's Idar-Oberstein Arts and Culture Award.
The band's first gigs took place in 2005 under the name The Bottles. Since then, the band, which has been known as SpeedBottles since 2007, has become a permanent fixture on the music scene. The SpeedBottles have released three albums to date, all of which have been released via official record labels. The band is currently working on their fourth album. With performances throughout Germany and neighboring European countries, the band has built up a loyal fan base. The self-organized events in Idar-Oberstein and the region are also particularly noteworthy. These not only attract well-known scene bands from all over the world to Idar-Oberstein, but also provide a platform for up-and-coming regional bands who make their own music. The SpeedBottles thus make a significant contribution to cultural diversity in the region and offer music fans unforgettable concert experiences.
Lord Mayor Frank Frühauf informed the SpeedBottles' frontman Sebastian Groß of the jury's decision and congratulated the band on winning the culture prize. Sebastian Groß explained: "We were delighted to be nominated and didn't think we would win the prize with such great competition. We accept the award with honor and will continue to proudly report on Idar-Oberstein, Felsenkirche, gemstones, spit roast and Bruce Willis wherever we perform and organize concerts in the region." Mayor Frühauf also thanked those who put forward the numerous nominees for the award. "This shows the great public interest in our cultural prize." He also has words of comfort for the nominees who were unfortunately not considered: "There is only ever one culture award winner per year. But I think the nomination alone is recognition for the cultural work of the nominees."