The Boomtown Rats singer and Band Aid co-founder Bob Geldof and the author Sally Rooney were among the honourees at the Sky Arts Awards in London's Roundhouse on Tuesday night.
Dubliner Geldof received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
"From fronting The Boomtown Rats to starring in Pink Floyd - The Wall, Bob Geldof has never stopped making an impact," said the Sky Arts Awards.
"Beyond the stage, he founded Band Aid, leading Live Aid, and fighting poverty with tireless activism."
Singer, songwriter, author, and political activist Bob Geldof is this year's recipient of the Sky Arts Lifetime Achievement Award.#SkyArtsAwards pic.twitter.com/J1yl66HKuR
— Sky Arts Awards (@SkyArts) September 16, 2025
Accepting his award from Queen drummer Roger Taylor, Geldof said: "In a period of cusp of change - it's not great - I was looking at the mottos as they flashed up on the screen about what the arts can and can't do.
"But what they can do is focus us to the essential. What they can do is put our experiences into a perspective so that we can look at them afresh, rather than be overwhelmed by the cost of living, by the flags, by the horror of Gaza, or the bloody fields of Ukraine.
"That's what the arts can do for us. That's what you guys have magnificently done this year. That's what he's (Roger Taylor) done all his life, and what we in The Rats try to do.
"Thanks very much for this. It's pretty mad, but thanks."
The Boomtown Rats were also among the performers at the awards.
Mayo author Rooney was honoured with the Literature Award for her latest book, Intermezzo, which the Sky Arts Awards described as "a devastating exploration of grief".
She did not attend the ceremony.
Sally Rooney wins the Literature award for Intermezzo, an intimate, sharp look at the emotional tensions in everyday life! #SkyArtsAwards pic.twitter.com/1NXPE7GBf1
— Sky Arts Awards (@SkyArts) September 16, 2025
In the Popular Music category, Kneecap were nominated for their album Fine Art but lost out to Lola Young for her album This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway.
The Rich Peppiatt-directed biopic Kneecap was nominated in the Film category but lost out to director Edward Berger's Conclave.
In the Television category, Netflix's Adolescence was the winner, with Adolescence's teenage star Owen Cooper receiving The Times Breakthrough Award.
The 2025 Times Breakthrough Artist is Owen Cooper, who gave an unbelievably chilling performance in Adolescence. #SkyArtsAwards pic.twitter.com/p1P68yqTyM
— Sky Arts Awards (@SkyArts) September 16, 2025
The winners in full:
Classical Music
Bold Tendencies - Body of work
Comedy
Elf Lyons - Horses
Dance
Nederland Dans Theatre and Complicité - Figures in Extinction
Film
Conclave
Literature
Sally Rooney - Intermezzo
Opera
Opera North - Simon Boccanegra
Poetry
Caleb Femi - The Wickedest
Popular Music
Lola Young - This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway
Television
Adolescence (Netflix)
Theatre
LUNG - The Children's Inquiry
Visual Art
Barbara Walker - Being Here
The Times Breakthrough Award
Owen Cooper (Television)
Arts Hero
Diane Carroll
Lifetime Achievement Award
Bob Geldof
