Music stars set to swoop on Portugal for MTV Europe Awards
Showbiz Desk

LISBON—A constellation of musical stars, including US pop queen Madonna and British singer Robbie Williams, are set to descend on the Portuguese capital Lisbon on Thursday for the annual MTV Europe Music Awards. British bands Coldplay and Gorillaz dominate the nominations this year with five each, followed by US pop star Gwen Stefani who got four nods for best female and pop act, best album and best video.
Gorillaz, whose public face is four cartoon characters, are vying for best group, best song, best video, best pop and best UK and Ireland act. Coldplay, fronted by Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s husband Chris Martin, are competing for best group, song, album, rock and UK and Ireland act.
British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, famous for his Ali G alter-ego, will host the awards show in his fictional role of Borat, a hapless television reporter from Kazakhstan. The 12th annual event, held for the first time in Portugal, will take place at Lisbon’s Atlantic Pavillion before an audience of some 12,000 people.
It will be broadcast live on MTV in Europe and the United States, and at a later time on more than 30 major television stations around the world. Organizers estimate that more than one billion people will watch at least part of the ceremony, making it Europe’s biggest music event.
A highlight of the event will be the first live TV performance by Madonna of “Confessions on a Dance Floor”, the first single from her new disco-inspired album “Hung Up” which will be released on November 15. The singer last appeared at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2000 in Stockholm, where she won the best dance and best female categories.
Gorillaz will use hologram technology to recreate the band’s four animated characters — Noodle, Murdoc, 2D and Russel — in 3-D on stage as part of their performance at the event. It will be the first time that the state-of-the-art technology will be used for a live music television performance, MTV said.
Other artists scheduled to perform at the event include Akon, Coldplay, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Robbie Williams, Pussycat Dolls, Shakira, System Of A Down and The Black Eyed Peas. Portuguese football hero Luis Figo will present one of the 29 awards, including 16 regional awards.
For the first time the MTV awards will include a category for best African act with Kaysha, Kleptomaniax, Zamajobe, 02 and 2 Face nominated. Irish rockers U2, US group Green Day, hip-hop acts 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg and British singer James Blunt, whose song “You’re Beautiful” currently tops European charts, are among the other nominated acts with three nods apiece.
The winners will be selected by music fans from across Europe and Africa who will be able to vote via MTV’s websites online, except for the category of best video which is selected by MTV Europe. More than 12 million people voted for their favourite artists during the last edition of the event held in Rome in November 2004. Previous locations for the awards ceremony, held in a different European city every year, include Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, London and Rotterdam.