When Glasgow and Edinburgh hosted the MTV Europe awards

Why MTV loves Glasgow

The winning artists, however, still received their MTV EMA Awards. Among them were Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish and David Guetta.

A general view of the Light Show on the Finnieston Crane ahead of the MTV EMA’s 2014 on November 9, 2014 in Glasgow (Image: Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images for MTV)

The awards have twice been staged in Scotland – in Edinburgh in November 2003, and in Glasgow in November 2014. Here we look back at some of the highlights of those memorable nights.

GLASGOW: SSE Hydro, November 9, 2014.

It was the night when host Nicki Minaj stole the show while wearing a spectacular grey dress with a 14ft-long train … and wrapped things up by quipping: “I’m going back to my hotel with a cup of tea and a Downton Abbey boxset”.

The SSE Hydro was awash with stars that night. Minaj, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys and U2 thrilled the huge crowd – and an estimated 500 million TV viewers across the world – with live performances.

Kiesza performs on stage during the MTV EMA’s 2014 at The Hydro (Image: Samir Hussein/Getty Images for MTV)

Ariana Grande sang her hits, Problem (which took the award for Best Song) and Break Free. Of her award she said: “I’m excited. I’m very happy. This is my first one of these. My brother will probably take it from me and put it in his apartment”.

Biffy Clyro (L) and Slash perform on stage during the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards at the SSE Hydro (Image: REUTERS/Toby Melville)Minaj, who made no fewer than eight costume changes throughout the show, said: “It’s so great to be here in Scotland the brave. I have been learning about your culture and I’m practically Scottish now. I’ve written a rap specially for you”.

She then rapped before breaking into a cover of The Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).

Enrique Iglesias performs during the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards at the the SSE Hydro (Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)
Ozzy Osbourne received the Global Icon award from Guns’n’Roses guitarist Slash.

Ed Sheeran sang his hit Thinking Out Loud: U2 performed Every Breaking Wave, and the 9,000-strong crowd waved light-up wristbands as Enrique Iglesias sang.

Katy Perry and One Direction, who between them won five awards, both appeared in video clips as they were unable to attend in person.

David Hasselhoff, who had greeted arriving fans by wearing a kilt, took part in a sketch as William Wallace. 

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne arrive on the carpet before the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards at the SSE Hydro (Image: REUTERS/Russell Cheyne)

The show came to an end as Slash, and Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil, performed a tribute to Ozzy in a blaze of pyrotechnics.

Top awards:

Best Song: Problem, by Ariana Grande

Best Pop Act: One Direction

Best Female: Ariana Grande

Best Male: Justin Bieber

Best New Act: 5 Seconds of Summer

The Edge and Bono of U2 perform during the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards at the the SSE Hydro (Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)

Best Worldwide Act: Bibi Zhou

Best Video: Dark Horse, by Katy Perry

Alesha Dixon attends the MTV EMA’s 2014 at The Hydro on November 9, 2014 (Image: Dave Hogan/MTV 2014/Getty Images for MTV)

Enrique Iglesias poses in the winners room at the MTV EMA’s 2014 after winning the Best World Stage award at The Hydro (Image: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images for MTV)

EDINBURGH: Ocean Terminal, Leith, November 6, 2003

Christina Aguilera, the co-host for the 2003 awards, opened this epic show with a raunchy stripping routine as she began her hit song. Dirrty. ”This is my show and if anyone’s going to be getting the award for showing the most skin, it’s me”, she said at one point.

Christina Aguilera with her MTV awards (Image: Gordon Terris)

Aguilera beat Beyonce, Kylie Minogue, Madonna and Pink to win the best female award. Beyonce, it was reported, looked put out when Aguilera’s name was read out but she herself took home two prizes: Best Song for Crazy In Love and the best R&B award.

Vin Diesel’s black leather kilt went down well with the Scottish audience (Image: Gordon Terris)

Justin Timberlake grabbed much of the attention by winning no fewer than three awards, Best Male, Best Pop and Best Album. When he took the second award he told the audience, in a temporary, purpose-built arena:  ”If I could have had a picture perfect night it wouldn’t have been as good as this.” As he collected the third and final award he declared: ”This is my first time in Scotland and I just want to say thank you. You don’t get nicer than you people.”

Other highlights included co-host Vin Diesel, in a black leather kilt, singing Flower of Scotland, and the pioneering German group, Kraftwerk, performing live. Britney Spears had pulled out of the awards a few days earlier because she was unwell.

Kraftwerk perform at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2003 on November 6, 2003 in Edinburgh (Image: Getty Images)

The awards were a considerable coup for the Scottish capital, with much excited talk about the economic and tourism benefits.

Brent Hansen, MTV Europe’s New Zealand-born chief, said after Edinburgh had been revealed as the venue: “My feeling is that we get a lot more value out of Scotland, from a creative point of view, than we would being in the middle of London, where it would have been just another event happening in another week.

Pink caused a stir when she arrived at the awards ceremony (Image: Gordon Terris)

“Edinburgh is also incredibly visual as a city and we can take advantage of that. We can do TRL Live [MTV’s afternoon show] and all the European channels are going to be shooting links around town. Edinburgh provides a wonderful backdrop to that.”

Diehard music fans queued overnight outside a Glasgow store to claim the last of the public tickets for the show.

Outside the Leith venue, teenage fans shivered in micro kilts and skimpy tops and carried huge plastic handbags. They were so excited that, even as early as 5.30pm they just screamed at everything they saw – including a black Labrador pup innocently snuffling the pavement at Britannia Quay.

Blacked-out limos, Land Rovers and Mercedes received equal treatment, as did any man with shaved hair who looked remotely like Timberlake. Actor Gerald Butler was among the many celebrities who were photographed as they arrived, as were Kylie Minogue and Michael Stipe – the REM frontman was one of the presenters.

Sharleen Spiteri of Texas and Shirley Manson of Garbage at the Edinburgh awards (Image: Gordon Terris)A policeman sought to calm down the proceedings by announcing that all the stars had been inside the striped marquee since earlier in the day, but if the fans were freezing in vain they did not seem to care. Three 11-year-olds from Leith excitedly said the only person they had seen so far was ”a fake Eminem”.

Upmarket shops and stores did well on the eve of the ceremony. At 9am on the day before, Timberlake himself contacted Cruise in a desperate search for Pringle’s best-selling black-and-grey cashmere Argyle print jumper, autumn’s hot item. Perhaps he was feeling the Scottish chill.

Many other performers had prepared for the cold, and Harvey Nichols sold Joseph Shearling’s Prada gloves, Kangol sports hats, and opaque tights to the Atomic Kittens. Even the Darkness, hardened rockers, bought heavy coats from Miu Miu, Paul Smith, and Dior.

Gerard Butler was one of the celebrities who attended the awards in Edinburgh (Image: Gordon Terris)

Thousands of music fans flocked to Princes Street Gardens, where Jane’s Addiction, The Chemical Brothers and The Flaming Lips took part in an MTV EMA outdoor show.

MTV’s big Scottish night yields £9m high notes: Economy is still reaping benefits from capital spectacular

The Leith event itself was a glittering, glamorous success.

Reported the Glasgow Herald: “At the end of it all, Aguilera announced that this was the greatest show on earth. Certainly, it was well rehearsed and strictly executed.

“MTV executives had said they wanted to pare down the panache to make the Edinburgh event more performance-driven than it had been in Barcelona in 2002.

Musical thanks

“What made the audience really sit up and take notice was the sight of 1970s German band Kraftwerk who did their first live TV performance. The pioneers of electronic music played from their latest album Tour De France – and were the sensations of the entire evening.

Justin Timberlake was one of the winners on the night (Image: Gordon Terris)

“Rumour has it that they are due to play Scotland as part of an international tour at the end of this year or early next year.

“The fans filed out to the sight of confetti from the Pink act being rigorously brushed up to the sound of Beyonce”.

Herald photographer Gordon Terris was present that night, and took pictures of all the stars. 
Travis were one of the many to groups in attendance at the Edinburgh awards (Image: Gordon Terris)He recalled this week: “It was quite an exciting night as we’d never seen so many big recording stars up our neck of woods and I also remember getting a fist bump with Gérard Butler – we share a mutual friend.

“The incongruity of it being Leith Docks was not lost on any of the locals”.

Top awards:

Best male artist: Justin Timberlake

Best female: Christina Aguilera

Best group: Coldplay

Best pop act: Justin Timberlake

Best album: Justin Timberlake, Justified

The Darkness at the MTV Awards in Edinburgh (Image: Graham Hamilton)

Best dance: Panjabi MC

Best R&B: Beyonce

Best rock: The White Stripes

Best hip-hop: Eminem

Beyonce with her trophies at the MTV awards in Edinburgh (Image: Gordon Terris)

Best new act: Sean Paul

Best video: Sigur Ros, Untitled 1

Kylie Minogue leaves the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh, the morning after the awards (Image: Graham Hamilton)

Michael Stipe of REM (Image: Gordon Terris)