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 Saturday, 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 took home four awards, including British Artist, Album, and Song of the Year, followed by Fender with two. == Background == First staged in 1977, the Brit Awards is an annual event recognising the best in British and International music, which has been held at venues in London since its launch, with The O2 Arena playing host to the ceremony since 2011. On 9 June, the BPI announced a two-year deal to hold the Brit Awards at Manchester's Co-op Live arena, meaning the 2026 and 2027 ceremonies will be held outside London, the first time in the Brit Awards history that this will be the case. On the same day, a three-year sponsorship deal was announced with Sony Music UK. Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, welcomed the move, describing it 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 for the first time since 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 include: Fatboy Slim at Boiler Shop, Newcastle upon Tyne (12 February) Lambrini Gang 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 of the show and will be broadcast during the ceremony. On 16 February 2026, Alex Warren was announced as the seventh performer for the ceremony. Sombr was added as the eighth performer on 19 February 2026. RAYE was announced as the ninth performer on 26 February 2026. On 26 February, it was announced that Robbie Williams would pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne alongside his former bandmates Adam Wakeman, Robert Trujillo, Tommy Clufetos and Zakk Wylde. == 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 receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Winners appear first and are highlighted in bold. == Multiple nominations and awards == == References ==