Attendees at the 10th annual worldwide gathering awarded Lennox the honor Nov. 10 for her efforts at raising awareness of HIV and Aids in South Africa. Since 2003, her “Sing” campaign has raised an estimated $2 million to help alleviate some of the suffering caused by the disease in the country.
Lennox, 54, told BBC she was inspired to make a difference after her friend, former South African president Nelson Mandela, called the nation’s HIV problem “genocide.”
The singer graciously thanked former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, who presented her with the award, and the assembled Nobel Peace Laureates for the honor, telling them, “I want to express my profound gratitude and deep humility.
“I honor all the women working around the globe to reduce the effects of this pandemic. This is for them, they truly deserve it.”
Lennox was also presented with a piece of the Berlin wall by Mayor Klaus Wowereit, who told her, “It looks inoffensive like this because it has been painted on, but for a long time this was part of a wall of fear.”
Last month, the singer surprised the audience celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at New York City’s Madison Square Garden when she joined Aretha Franklin – who at one point threatened to pull out of the show if her elaborate demands weren’t met – on stage to sing “Chain of Fools.”
“I was supposed to be on vacation but when the Queen called, I changed my plans.” Lennox told Rolling Stone, which described the epic duet as a “diva battle.”
Despite the success of the duo’s performance, organizers of the celebration told RS they were disappointed with some of Franklin’s song choices (“Make Them Hear You” from “Ragtime” and “New York, New York”?) and with “her seeming unwillingness to collaborate with her guests, Lenny Kravitz and Lennox, during rehearsal.”
Read BBC's coverage of the Nobel Peace Laureate summit and hear Lennox interviewed here.
For more information on, or to contribute to, Annie Lennox's "Sing" campaign, click here.