Trevor Noah scooped the distinguished Erasmus Prize in the Netherlands. Noah went on his social media to express his gratitude for the award.
“Thank you for the warm welcome, Netherlands!” Noah wrote on Instagram.
“It was truly an honour to be awarded the 2023 Erasmus Prize!”
“Special thanks to the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation, His Majesty the King Willem-Alexander, and The Royal Family,” Noah added.
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Noah received the award on 28 November, with the announcement of his initial win being made in March of this year. The king of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, handed the award over at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. Noah is the first comic to receive the award since Charlie Chaplin in 1965.
The Erasmus Prize is “awarded annually to a person or institution that has made an exceptional contribution to the humanities, the social sciences or the arts in the framework of European cultural tradition,” according to the Royal House of the Netherlands website.
The award comes with a cash amount of €150 000 (R 3 080 670.00) and is given by the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation, which aims “to strengthen the position of the humanities, the social sciences and the arts”, according to their website.
The award is named after Desiderius Erasmus, the Dutch Renaissance humanist.
“[Noah] receives the prize for his inspired contribution to the theme In Praise of Folly, named after Erasmus’ most famous book, filled with humour, social criticism and political satire,” read a press statement from the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation in March.
“As the youngest recipient, I will be reading my speech from my phone,” the comedian said in his acceptance speech.