U2, Beyonce, Eminem win as MTV awards return to Berlin

BERLIN - Irish band U2 won the Best Live Act prize Thursday night at the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards, after playing a sold-out free gig at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, as part of the awards’ return to the German capital for the first time in 15 years.

The other winners were Beyonce (Best Female), whose Single Ladies won Best Video and Halo took the prize for Best Song; Eminem (Best Male); Tokio Hotel (Best Group); Green Day (Best Rock Band); maNga (Best European Act); Lady Gaga (Best New Act); Jay-Z (Best Urban); Placebo (Best Alternative); Linkin Park (Best World Stage Performance); Pixie Lott (Best Push Artist).

The awards were inaugurated in Berlin in 1994, and Thursday’s event also saw stars such as Juliette Lewis, French actor Jean Reno and Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko attend.

With the German capital currently celebrating the fall of the Wall and reunification 20 years ago, the highlight was the return of U2, who also played at the inaugural event. The band recorded their landmark album, Achtung Baby, in Berlin, between the fall of the Wall in 1989 and reunification in 1990.

The MTV Europe Music Awards is an offshoot of the original American MTV awards, but has grown to establish itself as a successful event in its own right.