Left: NIR colour composite image of M17 based on 2MASS data: J (blue), H (green), and K (red). Our X-shooter targets are labelled: in black we show the objects that have no indication of a disk, in green the objects that show NIR excess only longward of 3 μm in the photometry (points to a dusty disk), in blue the objects with emission lines in the X-shooter spectrum and NIR excess (identifying them as mYSOs), and in red the post-AGB star B358; B311 is associated with the bow shock M17-S1 (Povich et al. 2008). The central cluster NGC 6618 includes several dozen OB-type stars that ionise the surrounding region. At the western edge of the H ii region several massive YSOs were identified. Apparently, massive star formation is continuing in the irradiated molecular cloud. Right: mid-infrared colour composite image of M17 based on Spitzer and Herschel: IRAC1 – 3.6 μm (blue), IRAC4 – 8.0 μm (green), and PACS – 70 μm (red). Here the distribution of the heated dust (blue) becomes apparent along with the PAH emission within the H ii region (green).