GERMANY: The annual "Bambi" awards, Germany's most prestigous awards ceremony, honour Bill Clinton, Mariah Carey and Karl Lagerfeld.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, singer Mariah Carey, German football idol Franz Beckenbauer and the Klitschko brothers all have one thing in common: they are winners of this year's annual "Bambi" prize, awarded in Munich on Thursday (December 1). Clinton received the "Charity Bambi," one of fourteen categories, for being a "manager of humanity" and "one of the world's most influential and well-connected personalities who help people in need," the Bambi jury said on World AIDS Day. The former American president's 'Clinton Foundation' "is working around the globe to stop AIDS" and says it "cut the cost of medicine to treat the disease. Only hours before Clinton accepted the award, he arrived in Germany from a tour of Indonesia and Sri Lanka where he met with victims of last year's tsunami. "Every time I'm in Germany I'm happy when I'm in Munich," Clinton told the audience, adding: "it's almost embarrassing to say it's nearly 37 years ago when I was first here." Pop star Mariah Carey was honoured with the "Bambi Pop International" for being one of the "most dazzling figures in the international music industry who sold 140 million CDs and landed 16 number one hits". In the category of sports, seven "exceptional athletes and sports idols" shared the "heroes of sports" prize: Ukrainian-born boxing brothers Vladimir and Vitali Klitschko, German biathlete Uschi Disl, show jumper Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, table tennis player Timo Boll, triathlete Faris Al-Sultan and Bayern Munich captain Michael Ballack. "With their exceptional achievements, they are," according to the jury, "an example to millions of people." Franz Beckenbauer, "one of Germany's Great," received the "Millennium Bambi" award to honour the former football star's "achievements " for Germany and for his role as the country's "ambassador for the 2006 World Cup." Beckenbauer, who received his fifth Bambi award on Thursday night, joked "I won't make the mistake of holding a long thank-you speech because when I walked up here already people tried biting into my arm because most are so hungry". German "top-model" Julia Stegner was awarded the "shooting star" Bambi while German-born fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld was given the "creativity Bambi". The "Bambi" prize has been awarded annually since 1948 by the Hubert Burda Media group which publishes more than 200 magazines worldwide. "Bambi" each year "honours people who have especially moved and elated the German audience with their vision and creativity," according to the Hubert Burda Media group. Past winners of the award include model Heidi Klum, boxing legend Muhammed Ali, pop star Michael Jackson, actors Halle Berry and Tom Hanks and singers Elton John and Anastacia.

ITN Source | December 7, 2005

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