Two singers whose careers took off in the 1960s are being honoured this week. In Berlin, Nana Mouskouri received Germany’s Order of Merit, and in Cardiff, Mary Hopkin is due to collect one of Welsh music’s top awards.
Nana Mouskouri receives Germany’s Order of Merit
On Monday 5 October, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier presented Nana Mouskouri with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany at Schloss Bellevue, his official residence in Berlin. According to the Federal President’s office, she was one of 21 people, 12 women and nine men, honoured to mark the Day of German Unity for their work for democratic values, reconciliation and international understanding. Other recipients reported by MDR included the jazz trumpeter Till Brönner, the writer Navid Kermani, and the Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman together with her grandson Aron Goodman.
The official citation recalls that Mouskouri lived through the German occupation of Greece as a child, yet came to Germany in 1961, where her international career began. It credits her with helping to start a process of reconciliation only a few years after the war, and notes that she served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 1999 and has been a UNICEF ambassador since 1993. MDR adds that she recorded her breakthrough hit “Weiße Rosen aus Athen” (“White Roses from Athens”) in Berlin. Speaking to Bild, as reported by the Berliner Zeitung, she called the award a huge honour that moved her deeply. She turns 92 on 13 October.
Mary Hopkin to receive the Welsh Music Inspiration Award
On Wednesday 7 October, Mary Hopkin, 76, will receive the Welsh Music Inspiration Award at the Welsh Music Prize ceremony at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, hosted by Siân Eleri and broadcast live on BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru. Nation.Cymru reports that the award recognises people whose influence goes beyond chart success; earlier winners include Pino Palladino, Dafydd Iwan and Mike Peters.
Hopkin first sang on the BBC Wales Welsh-language programme Hob y Deri Dando, and in 1968 her debut single “Those Were the Days”, produced by Paul McCartney, reached number one in the UK. As BBC Cymru Fyw notes, her career has also included backing vocals on David Bowie’s album Low, vocals on the Vangelis soundtrack for Blade Runner, a Grammy nomination and second place for the UK at Eurovision. “I’m very grateful for this honour,” she said.
Timeless voices call for timeless pieces: a simple pendant necklace, a pair of sapphire earrings or an Aegean-blue aquamarine ring never go out of style.
Sources: Der Bundespräsident, “Verdienstorden zum Tag der Deutschen Einheit” (5 October 2026); MDR, “Schlagerlegende Nana Mouskouri mit Bundesverdienstkreuz geehrt”; Berliner Zeitung, “Nana Mouskouri (91) bekommt das Bundesverdienstkreuz”; BBC Cymru Fyw, “Anrhydeddu’r gantores Mary Hopkin am ei ‘dylanwad parhaol'”; Nation.Cymru, “Welsh folk legend Mary Hopkin to be recognised with prestigious music award”.
