Who won the MTV Best Dance Video Award in 1997 for "Wannabe"?

The Spice Girls won the 1997 MTV Best Dance Video Award for “Wannabe.” The award recognized the music video for the group’s debut single, which became one of the defining pop clips of the decade.

“Wannabe” was filmed at London’s Midland Grand Hotel, now known as the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Its energetic, apparently chaotic style showed the five members—Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham—running through a party and introducing their distinct personalities.

The video was originally intended to be shot in Barcelona, but the production lost permission to use its planned location just days before filming. The setting was moved to London, and the group rehearsed through the night for a loose, single-take feel. The finished video was assembled from two takes.

The award is sometimes confused with other honors received by the song. “Wannabe” also won Best Video at the 1997 Comet Media Awards, while the Spice Girls received separate nominations and awards for other songs and categories. Here, the combination of year, award category and song points specifically to the Spice Girls.