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.
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. Dean won four awards, for Pop Act, British Artist, Album, and - with Fender - Song of the Year. Fender was the only other artist to garner multiple awards during the ceremony.
Background First presented in 1977, 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. 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. On the same day, a three-year sponsorship deal was announced with Sony Music UK. Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, described the move as a "massive coup for Greater Manchester".
The news followed an announcement in May that the 2025 Mercury Prize would be held in Newcastle instead of London.
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".
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.
Brits Week 2026 To promote the awards ceremony and support the charity War Child, the BPI hosted several gigs as part of Brits Week. Artists performing as part of Brits Week included:
Fatboy Slim at Boiler Shop, Newcastle upon Tyne (12 February) Lambrini Girls at The Garage, London (16 February) Myles Smith at Rescue Rooms, Nottingham (24 February) Jack Savoretti and Katherine Jenkins at Emerald Theatre, London (25 February) kwn at Patterns, Brighton (25 February) Josh Baker at Yes, Manchester (25 February) Rossi. at Yes, Manchester (26 February) Jacob Alon at Music Room at Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh (27 February) Robbie Williams at Factory International, Aviva Studios, Manchester (27 February)
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. On 28 January, Harry Styles was announced as the second artist to be performing at the ceremony. Wolf Alice were added to the line-up on the next day. Mark Ronson was confirmed as a performer on 3 February alongside the announcement that he would be receiving the Outstanding Contribution to Music award. Rosalía was announced as the fifth performer of the ceremony on 5 February. 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. 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. Sombr was announced as the eighth performer on 19 February. On 26 February, Raye was announced as the ninth performer, and Robbie Williams would pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne alongside his former bandmates Adam Wakeman, Robert Trujillo, Tommy Clufetos and Zakk Wylde.
+ List of performances Artist(s) Song(s) UK Singles Chart reaction UK Albums Chart reaction Harry Styles "Aperture" 10 (+6) Harry's House - 72 (+26)Fine Line - 80 (+6) Huntrix: Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami "Golden" 20 (-4) 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) RosalíaBjörkThe Heritage Orchestra "Berghain" Lux - 37 (re-entry) Alex WarrenJames Blunt "Ordinary" 16 (+3) You'll Be Alright, Kid - 7 (+4) Mark RonsonGhostface KillahThe Dap-KingsDua Lipa "Ooh Wee""Back to Black""Valerie""Uptown Funk""Dance the Night""Electricity" Wolf Alice "The Sofa" Sombr "Undressed""Back to Friends" N/A42 (+7) I Barely Know Her - 17 (+10) Robbie WilliamsAdam WakemanRobert TrujilloTommy ClufetosZakk WyldeTribute to Ozzy Osbourne"No More Tears"
Winners and nominees The Critics' Choice shortlist was revealed on 3 December 2025, with Jacob Alon announced as the winner on 19 January 2026. The complete list of nominees was announced on 21 January 2026. Mark Ronson was announced as the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Music award on 3 February 2026. Noel Gallagher was confirmed to receive the Songwriter of the Year award on 4 February while PinkPantheress was announced as the recipient of Producer of the Year on 23 February. On 26 February, it was announced that Ozzy Osbourne would posthumously receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Winners appear first and are highlighted in bold. +British Album of the YearSong of the Year The Art of Loving – Olivia Dean The Boy Who Played the Harp – Dave West End Girl – Lily Allen People Watching – Sam Fender The Clearing – Wolf Alice "Rein Me In" – Sam Fender and Olivia Dean "Blessings" – Calvin Harris and Clementine Douglas "The Days (Notion Remix)" – Chrystal and Notion "Defying Gravity" – Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande "Azizam" – Ed Sheeran "Victory Lap" – Fred Again, Skepta, and PlaqueBoyMax "Survive" – Lewis Capaldi "Messy" – Lola Young "Nice to Meet You" – Myles Smith "Man I Need" – Olivia Dean "Where Is My Husband!" – Raye "Family Matters" – Skye NewmanBritish Artist of the YearBritish Group Olivia Dean Dave Fred Again Jade Lily Allen Little Simz Lola Young PinkPantheress Sam Fender Self Esteem Wolf Alice The Last Dinner Party Pulp Sleep Token Wet LegBest Pop ActBest R&B Act Olivia Dean Jade Lily Allen Lola Young Raye Sault Jim Legxacy Kwn Mabel Sasha KeableBest Dance ActBest Alternative/Rock Act Fred Again, Skepta, and PlaqueBoyMax Calvin Harris and Clementine Douglas FKA Twigs PinkPantheress Sammy Virji Sam Fender Blood Orange Lola Young Wet Leg Wolf AliceBest Hip Hop/Grime/Rap ActBritish Breakthrough Artist Dave Central Cee Jim Legxacy Little Simz Loyle Carner Lola Young Barry Can't Swim EsDeeKid Jim Legxacy Skye NewmanInternational Artist of the YearInternational Song of the Year Rosalía Bad Bunny Chappell Roan CMAT Doechii Lady Gaga Sabrina Carpenter Sombr Taylor Swift Tyler, the Creator "APT." – Rosé and Bruno Mars "Ordinary" – Alex Warren "Pink Pony Club" – Chappell Roan "No Broke Boys" – Disco Lines and Tinashe "Sailor Song" – Gigi Perez "That's So True" – Gracie Abrams "Golden" – Huntrix: Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami "Die with a Smile" – Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars "Love Me Not" – Ravyn Lenae "Manchild" – Sabrina Carpenter "Undressed" – Sombr "The Fate of Ophelia" – Taylor SwiftInternational Group of the Year Critics' Choice Geese Haim Tame Impala Huntrix: Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami Turnstile Jacob Alon Rose Gray Sienna SpiroSongwriter of the Year Noel GallagherProducer of the Year PinkPantheressOutstanding Contribution to Music Mark RonsonLifetime Achievement Award Ozzy Osbourne (Posthumously)
Multiple nominations and awards
+ Artists who received multiple nominationsNominationsArtist 5 Olivia Dean Lola Young 4 Sam Fender 3 Lily Allen Wolf Alice Dave Fred Again Jim Legxacy 2 JADE Calvin Harris and Clementine Douglas PinkPantheress Sabrina Carpenter Chappell Roan Little Simz Raye Skepta PlaqueBoyMax Wet Leg Skye Newman Bruno Mars Huntrix Sombr Lady Gaga Taylor Swift
+ Artists who received multiple awardsAwardsArtist4Olivia Dean2Sam Fender
References