"Of all the awards in the world of music, The Ivors are for me, the most prestigious. Songwriting is a skilled craft and The Ivors Academy are its guild," Sting, 71, said in a statement.

Rock star Sting headlined a concert in Paris' Bataclan music hall on Saturday to mark the venue's reopening a year after three Islamist militants gunned down 90 revellers in France's bloodiest terror attack.