The annual German media awards ceremony, known as the BAMBI Awards, is presented in recognition of excellence in television and international media, covering the arts, culture and sports. Not just reserved for German creativity, the engraved awards can be won by any personality with “vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year.”
The inaugural awards were held in 1948, and up until 1953, took place in the private homes of the winners. The first public ceremony was held at the Passage-Theater in Hamburg. At the 1958 gala ceremony, the red carpet measured just 25 feet and 6 inches. At the 60th anniversary gala, held in Offenburg, the red carpet measured 1,050 feet.
The statuette itself, in the image of a fawn, was originally made of porcelain and was a white colour. Since 1958, BAMBI has been cast from bronze and covered with 18-carat gold plate. The statuette is eleven inches high and has a length of eight inches, weighing around 5.5lb.
Since 1948, the statuette has been awarded hundreds of times. Up to 2009, it had been awarded to 444 male winners and 242 female winners, with a total of 991 statuettes overall. Tom Cruise holds the record for the longest acceptance speech at almost eight minutes and 1,319 words, and Heinz Ruhmann holds the record for the most BAMBIs won, with an impressive 12 awards.
Here at H Cooper Glass Engravers, our glass awards and trophies can help any gala ceremony be a memorable and enjoyable occasion.