Princess and prizewinners champion hope against ‘darker times’ at Princess of Asturias Awards
Hope and shared purpose take centre stage at Asturias awards
Poinews.com – Calls for freedom, democratic commitment and human connection shaped the 46th Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony in Oviedo, where Princess Leonor, King Felipe VI and an international group of laureates reflected on how to face an uncertain era.
Held at the Campoamor Theatre on Friday, the ceremony brought together figures from literature, science, the arts and public life. Across the evening, speakers returned to a common idea: individual achievement matters most when it strengthens a wider sense of community.
Poet and musician Patti Smith gave one of the night’s most warmly received appearances. Her performance of “Wing,” a work closely associated with the early spoken-word phase of her career, captured the mood in the theatre and among admirers gathered in Oviedo in recent days.
“And they saw nothing / No future at all / Yet I was free.”
The song balances a defence of personal liberty with a challenge to the belief that people can thrive in isolation. That tension between independence and mutual responsibility echoed through many of the acceptance speeches as the world moves further into the 21st century.
A ceremony of voices across generations
Princess Leonor, president of the Princess of Asturias Foundation, opened the event by recalling a description once offered by Meryl Streep, a previous laureate whose enthusiastic encounter with Asturian bagpipers remains a memorable moment in the awards’ recent history.
“The echo of the voices of many of our heroes of the 20th century and of this young century of ours.”
The phrase framed the event as more than a series of prizes. It presented the awards as a meeting point between established accomplishments and the questions now confronting a new generation.
Christina Koch, honoured with the Princess of Asturias Award for Concord, used her speech to challenge narrow ideas about who belongs in engineering and scientific fields. She made a personal connection with Spain while describing her first visit to the country.
“The first time I came to Spain, I wept openly in the middle of the street.”
Her message focused on the possibility of unity within a species able to work together, connected by what she described as “the search for affection.” Her remarks gave the award’s theme of concord a practical human dimension: progress depends not only on technical ability, but also on the willingness to recognise one another.
Democracy, Europe and the value of human work
British historian Timothy Garton Ash, who grew up in a household led by a committed Brexit supporter, made one of the clearest political interventions of the ceremony. He drew spontaneous applause when he twice described Britain as inseparable from the European continent.
His speech also defended freedoms sustained through scholarship, journalism and the rule of law. In that context, he referred directly to the International Criminal Court, whose judges have faced sanctions from the United States under the Trump administration. The reference placed the awards’ broader discussion of liberty within current debates over international institutions and legal accountability.
Literature laureate Julian Barnes began his remarks with a reflection on Diego Velázquez, one of Spain’s most celebrated painters. For Barnes, the experience of looking at Velázquez can make writers and artists feel that the essential insights have already been expressed, even as creative work continues to find new forms.
Princess Leonor later addressed the enduring importance of that distinctly human creative response.
“No AI will ever be able to replicate the emotion stirred by your work.”
King Felipe VI expanded on the subject, arguing that the speed and apparent efficiency of artificial intelligence should not be confused with the depth of human intelligence. He said the laureates’ work demonstrated how talent becomes lasting achievement through sustained effort and perseverance.
“We live in a world in which Artificial Intelligence sometimes seems to us, because it is so efficient and immediate, more reliable than human intelligence.”
His comments placed technology within a larger question raised throughout the ceremony: how societies retain judgement, creativity and responsibility while adapting to powerful new tools.
The King also looked ahead to Spain’s forthcoming general elections, stressing that democratic life cannot be reduced to one vote or one campaign. Citizens, he said, will again carry the serious responsibility of setting the country’s political course.
“Democracy requires daily commitment, civic and demanding, and care for its forms and institutions.”
That appeal linked electoral participation to the continued protection of coexistence and the common good. It was a reminder that democratic institutions require attention between elections as much as during them.
A final invitation to live
Near the close of the ceremony, Princess Leonor turned to Studio Ghibli, the recipient of the Communication and Humanities award. Kenichi Yoda represented the Japanese studio, whose films have reached audiences across generations with stories that frequently combine imagination, vulnerability and moral courage.
She cited a line associated with one of the studio’s films, itself drawing on Paul Valéry:
“The wind rises, we must try to live!”
It served as an apt conclusion to an evening shaped by concern about darker times but not defined by resignation. From Patti Smith’s insistence on freedom to the calls for solidarity, democratic care and creative perseverance, the laureates offered a shared response to uncertainty: face it together, protect what is human, and continue trying to live fully.
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