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2025 Princess of Asturias Awards Week and Ceremony
A Landmark Edition of Cultural Celebration and Public Engagement
The 2025 Princess of Asturias Awards Week concluded with remarkable public participation, renewed creative energy and a rich programme that once again highlighted the global relevance of the laureates’ work. Over the course of ten days, 80 activities brought together 40,455 attendees, reaffirming the Foundation’s mission to connect excellence with society. As in previous years, the former Arms Factory in Oviedo — an industrial heritage site of enormous complexity and significance — served as the programme’s principal hub, supported by additional venues throughout Asturias. Education and youth participation also played a central role. The tenth edition of “Taking the Floor”, the Foundation’s flagship cultural programme for schools, achieved record engagement: 159 participating schools, 9,213 student involvements, and 7,613 submitted projects, including contributions from schools across six other Spanish regions.
Former Arms Factory: A Cultural Laboratory of Exchanges and Creativity
The former Arms Factory welcomed more than 14,700 visitors, offering an immersive journey through exhibitions, performances, collaborative installations and artistic workshops. The programme of exhibitions and installations reached its pinnacle with “Spain and Mexico”, the major retrospective dedicated to Graciela Iturbide. Bringing together 173 photographs by the 2025 Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, the exhibition—curated by Beatriz Mckenzie and designed by architect Ángela Juarranz—explored the deep cultural dialogue between Mexico and Spain.
Talks, Panels and Educational Activities
The week offered a rich programme of talks, panels and educational activities featuring the 2025 Princess of Asturias Awards laureates and invited specialists. Graciela Iturbide (the Arts) inaugurated her exhibition and shared insights into her visual philosophy during guided tours and several events held in Oviedo and Gijón. “Iturbide, Iñárritu: A Camera to Understand Life”, for example, brought together Ms. Iturbide and four-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Douglas Massey (Social Sciences) delivered a lecture on the future of human mobility, while Byung-Chul Han (Communication and Humanities) engaged in a widely attended dialogue with philosopher Eduardo Infante on ethics, technology and contemporary life. Eduardo Mendoza (Literature) met with public library reading clubs from all over Spain in an event that also drew thousands of online viewers. Mary-Claire King, (Technical and Scientific Research) spoke about breast cancer genetics, forensic DNA and her landmark collaboration with the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo. Serena Williams (Sports), meanwhile, inspired young athletes in an energetic Q&A session. Mario Draghi (International Cooperation), held a dedicated session with university students and researchers, reflecting on Europe’s challenges and sharing his experience in economics, finance and global leadership. Antonio Saborit, director of the National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico (Concord), met with University of Oviedo students and visited the Muséu del Pueblu d’Asturies (Museum of the People of Asturias) in Gijón to inaugurate the exhibition “Photographic Portraits of Mexican Types” and take part in a discussion moderated by the museum’s director, Joaquín López.
In addition, 2016 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research Hugh Herr met with students and researchers to discuss advances in biomechanics, robotic prostheses and technologies.
2025 Princess of Asturias Awards Ceremony
The 2025 Princess of Asturias Awards Ceremony brought together the laureates and welcomed several past awardees. Several laureates, including Eduardo Mendoza, Byung-Chul Han, Graciela Iturbide and Mario Draghi, delivered speeches during the celebration. Her Royal Highness The Princess of Asturias honoured each laureate with a personal letter, emphasizing the importance of respect, justice, democracy and protecting the vulnerable. She called for the return to essential values as a guiding compass in uncertain times. His Majesty The King closed the event with a brief and heartfelt speech in which he expressed his intention to hand over the presidency of the ceremony to Her Royal Highness The Princess of Asturias in her role as Honorary President of the Foundation, which she has held since 2014, following her father’s proclamation as King Felipe VI. He spoke of the civic duty and privilege of addressing the laureates, whom he praised with words of admiration and gratitude.
He also referred to the strong bond that unites him with the Foundation and its Awards, affirming that he “will always remain committed to its goals, its values and its future.” At the end of the ceremony, Her Royal Highness The Princess of Asturias, officially announced the opening of the 2026 Princess of Asturias Awards Call for Nominations.
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