The EBU celebrated the power of public service media in supporting new artists at the annual European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA) on Wednesday 17 January.

The opening night of the Eurosonic Noorderslag Festival (ESNS) sawpresentations to the most successful European acts of the moment. The awards show was broadcast by over 20 EBU Members and streamed live on the EBBA website. It included performances from Alice Merton, Alma, Off Bloom, Sigrid, Skott, Youngr and 2017 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) participants from Belgium and Bulgaria, Blanche and Kristian Kostov among others. Portugal's ESC winner Salvador Sobral has also been given an EBBA.

Awards host, the BBC's host Jools Holland announced that Kristian Kostov (above) was also the winner of the Public Choice Award given to the artist that has attracted the most votes online. Last year's winner was British singer Dua Lipa.

Each year 10 European artists receive an EBBA for the success of their first release outside their home territory. This success is measured by sales, live shows and airplay on EBU Member radio stations which contributes to their postition on the European Border Breakers Charts. Artists that qualify for EBBA 2018 have experienced groundbreaking success with their first international release in Europe between August 1 2016 and July 31 2017. Alongside that, they have to come from a country that participates in the EU’s Creative Europe programme.

The list of former EBBA winners features many remarkable European artists of the last few years, like: Adele, Christine & the Queens, Dua Lipa, Stromae, Gabriel Rios, Hozier, Of Monsters and Men, Mumford & Sons, Aurora, Disclosure, John Newman, C2C, Tokio Hotel, The Script, Years and Years, Robin Schulz, Carnival Youth, MØ and Melanie di Biasio.

EBBA, now in its 15th year, is an EU prize, set up by ESNS in co-operation with the European Broadcasting Union and the European Commission, supported by Buma Cultuur, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the province of Groningen, the city of Groningen and MartiniPlaza.