Brit Awards 2026

Last updated

Brit Awards 2026
Date28 February 2026 (2026-02-28)
Location Co-op Live
Hosted by Jack Whitehall
Most awards Olivia Dean (4)
Most nominations
Website brits.co.uk
Television/radio coverage
Network ITV and ITVX (United Kingdom)
YouTube (outside United Kingdom)
  2025  ·
· 2027 

The Brit Awards 2026 was the 46th edition of the Brit Awards ceremony presented by British Phonographic Industry (BPI) to recognise the best in British and international music in 2025. It was held on 28 February 2026 at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, the first time in the ceremony's history that it was held outside London. Jack Whitehall hosted the ceremony for the sixth time, while Charley Marlowe and Tyler West hosted the live red carpet coverage across the BRITs' official social media channels for the first time.

Contents

For this year's ceremony, Olivia Dean and Lola Young led the nominations, with five each, both being nominated for British Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Act. Sam Fender followed them, with four nominations. [1] Dean won four awards, including British Artist, Album, and Song of the Year, followed by Fender with two. [2]

Background

First presented in 1977, [3] the Brit Awards is an annual event recognising the best in British and International music, which had been held at venues in London since its launch, with The O2 Arena hosting the ceremony from 2011. [4] [5] On 9 June, the BPI announced a two-year deal to hold the 2026 and 2027 Brit Awards at Manchester's Co-op Live arena, marking the first time the Brit Awards were held outside of London. [6] On the same day, a three-year sponsorship deal was announced with Sony Music UK. [7] Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, described the move as a "massive coup for Greater Manchester". [7]

The news followed an announcement in May that the 2025 Mercury Prize would be held in Newcastle instead of London. [6]

In October, as part of the first details for the 2026 ceremony, the Rising Star award was reverted to its original name, the Critics' Choice Award, "in acknowledgement of the importance of 'critical acclaim' to artists at this early and crucial stage of their career". The award for Best New Artist was also reverted to British Breakthrough Act after previously being renamed in 2019, "celebrating the transformative point for British artists as they cut through to a wider audience and in support of the long-term development of artists and their progression". [8]

Trophy

The designer for this year's trophy was fashion stylist Matthew Williamson. The sculpture was inspired by Williamson's upbringing in Manchester, and was made using amber-toned resin made to resemble the golden honey of a worker bee, the city's mascot. [9]

Brits Week 2026

To promote the awards ceremony and support the charity War Child, the BPI hosted several gigs as part of Brits Week. [10] Artists performing as part of Brits Week included:

Performances

On 21 January 2026, on the Bring on the BRITs with Mastercard: The 2026 Nominations Show live on Instagram, the first performer was announced as Olivia Dean. [11] On 28 January, Harry Styles was announced as the second artist to be performing at the ceremony. [12] Wolf Alice were added to the line-up on the next day. [13] Mark Ronson was confirmed as a performer on 3 February alongside the announcement that he would be receiving the Outstanding Contribution to Music award. [14] Rosalía was announced as the fifth performer of the ceremony on 5 February. [15] On 13 February, Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami were announced as the next performers, becoming the first K-pop performers in the history of the Brit Awards. [16] Their performance was recorded in advance and was broadcast during the ceremony. On 16 February, Alex Warren was announced as the seventh performer for the ceremony. [17] Sombr was announced as the eighth performer on 19 February. [18] On 26 February, Raye was announced as the ninth performer, [19] and Robbie Williams would pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne alongside his former bandmates Adam Wakeman, Robert Trujillo, Tommy Clufetos and Zakk Wylde. [20]

List of performances
Artist(s)Song(s)UK Singles Chart reaction
(week ending 6 March 2026)
UK Albums Chart reaction
(week ending 6 March 2026)
Harry Styles "Aperture"10 (+6) Harry's House - 72 (+26)
Fine Line - 80 (+6)
Huntrix: Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami "Golden"20 (-4)N/a
Olivia Dean "Man I Need"8 (-1) The Art of Loving - 2 (+/-)
Messy - 50 (+24)
Raye "Where Is My Husband!"
"Nightingale Lane"
13 (+/-)
20 (NEW)
My 21st Century Blues - 52 (+9)
Rosalía
Björk
The Heritage Orchestra
"Berghain"N/a Lux - 37 (re-entry)
Alex Warren
James Blunt
"Ordinary"16 (+3) You'll Be Alright, Kid - 7 (+4)
Mark Ronson
Ghostface Killah
The Dap-Kings
Dua Lipa
"Ooh Wee"
"Back to Black"
"Valerie"
"Uptown Funk"
"Dance the Night"
"Electricity"
N/aN/a
Wolf Alice "The Sofa"N/aN/a
Sombr "Undressed"
"Back to Friends"
N/A
42 (+7)
I Barely Know Her - 17 (+10)
Robbie Williams
Adam Wakeman
Robert Trujillo
Tommy Clufetos
Zakk Wylde
Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne
"No More Tears"
N/aN/a

Winners and nominees

The Critics' Choice shortlist was revealed on 3 December 2025, with Jacob Alon announced as the winner on 19 January 2026. [21] The complete list of nominees was announced on 21 January 2026. [22] Mark Ronson was announced as the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Music award on 3 February 2026. [14] Noel Gallagher was confirmed to receive the Songwriter of the Year award on 4 February [23] while PinkPantheress was announced as the recipient of Producer of the Year on 23 February. [24] On 26 February, it was announced that Ozzy Osbourne would posthumously receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. [20] Winners appear first and are highlighted in bold. [25]

British Album of the Year
(presented by Jeff Goldblum)
Song of the Year
(presented by Robbie Williams)
British Artist of the Year
(presented by Maya Jama and James Blunt)
British Group
(presented by Shaun Ryder and Bez)
Best Pop Act
(presented by Matthew Williamson)
Best R&B Act
(presented by Clara Amfo)
Best Dance Act
(presented by DJ Paulette)
Best Alternative/Rock Act
(presented by Jack Saunders)
Best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act
(presented by Sasha Keable)
British Breakthrough Artist
(presented by Myles Smith)
International Artist of the Year
(presented by Tems and Jade Thirlwall)
International Song of the Year
(presented by Luke Littler and Angryginge)
International Group of the Year
(presented by Cat Burns)
Critics' Choice
Songwriter of the Year
(presented by Bobby Gillespie)
Producer of the Year
Outstanding Contribution to Music
(presented by Skepta)
Lifetime Achievement Award
(presented by Dolly Parton)

Multiple nominations and awards

Artists who received multiple awards
AwardsArtist
4 Olivia Dean
2 Sam Fender

References

  1. "Nominations are coming!". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  2. "All the winners at the 2026 Brit Awards". BBC News . 28 February 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  3. "BRITs 2026 and 2027: Manchester's Co-Op Live to host ceremony". Official Charts. 9 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  4. "BRIT Awards 2026 to be held in Manchester for first time in 47 years". ITV News. ITV. 9 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  5. "The BRIT Awards 2026: Your ultimate guide". Rayo. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  6. 1 2 Paterson, Colin (8 June 2025). "Brit Awards to leave London for Manchester after 48 years". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  7. 1 2 Singh, Surej (9 June 2025). "The BRIT Awards are moving to Manchester for the first time ever in 2026 and 2027". NME. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  8. "First details announced for BRITs 2026". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  9. "2026 BRIT Award Revealed". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  10. "BRITs Week 2026 Lineup Announced". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  11. "BRITs 2026 Nominees Announced!". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  12. "Harry Styles to perform!". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  13. "Wolf Alice join the lineup!". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Mark Ronson to be honoured with Outstanding Contribution To Music". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  15. "Rosalía to perform!". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  16. "Manchester's turning Golden!". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  17. "Alex Warren to play BRITs 2026!". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  18. "SOMBR added to the lineup!". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  19. "RAYE returns to BRITs!". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
  20. 1 2 "Ozzy Osbourne to be honoured posthumously with Lifetime Achievement Award". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  21. "Jacob Alon wins Critics' Choice!". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  22. "BRITs 2026 Nominees Announced!". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  23. "Noel Gallagher wins Songwriter of the Year!". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  24. "PinkPantheress wins Producer of the Year". www.brits.co.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  25. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (1 March 2026). "Brit awards 2026: full list of winners". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 1 March 2026.