Brit Awards 2026 heads to Manchester as Global brands mount live coverage
The brit awards 2026 will be staged in Manchester on Saturday, marking the first time the ceremony has been held outside London, and Global’s radio and digital brands have laid out a coordinated plan of live red-carpet, backstage and winners’ room coverage.
Brit Awards 2026: Global to flood coverage from Manchester
Global says a coordinated push across its stations and digital brands will put presenters at the centre of this year’s BRIT Awards coverage. Capital, Heart, Capital XTRA and Capital Buzz will broadcast live from the red carpet, speaking to nominees and winners as they arrive and capturing reaction throughout the night across radio, social and digital platforms.
Jimmy Hill will host his Saturday show from 9 a. m. to 12 p. m. ET live from Manchester, and Global’s showbiz team will report from Co-op Live. The broadcast effort follows a week of build-up branded as Capital’s BRITs Winning Weekend. James Rea said: “The BRIT Awards is one of the biggest nights in music in the world and we’ll make sure Global’s audiences don’t just hear about, but get to experience every minute of this very special event!”
Red carpet, backstage and winners’ room coverage
Presenters will report from backstage and the winners’ room, and content will be shared across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Capital XTRA will focus on red carpet and backstage interviews; Capital Anthems will air Best of the BRITs on Friday from 6 p. m. ET, revisiting previous performances and winners. Heart’s showbiz correspondent Ashley Roberts will report live from the red carpet on Saturday afternoon, then share backstage stories and coverage of the after parties on Heart Breakfast on Monday morning.
Manchester’s first time outside London and local legacy
Manchester hosts the ceremony on Saturday for the first time outside London. Artists from the city and the wider Greater Manchester region have been winning the famous statues for four decades, a local record organisers and fans often point to when discussing the city’s music pedigree. For listeners and readers in the region, the invitation is clear: tell us which stories we should cover in Greater Manchester. The best of Radio Manchester is available on Sounds, and Manchester can be followed on Facebook, X and Instagram; story ideas can be sent by WhatsApp to 0808 100 2230.
Other headlines across radio and national news
Alongside BRITs coverage, recent and related headlines include: Exact date clocks go forward in 2026 for daylight saving time; Everything that happened the day after the Gorton and Denton by-election; Councillor opens up on four-year hate campaign amid abuse directed at Cheshire East leaders; Sara Cox looking for heart-warming stories from Bolton to feature on a popular show; Regular Mock the Week comedian heading to a Warrington venue; 'Jekyll and Hyde' abuser jailed after leaving partner paralysed in a vicious attack; Starmer vows to fight on after a historic Green by-election win; Green victory shows insurgent parties are here to stay; 'I saw nothing, I did nothing wrong, ' Bill Clinton says as he testifies about Jeffrey Epstein; Anxious days inside Iran as speculation grows of US strikes; How Hollywood and Maga aligned over the Warner Bros deal; Sir John Curtice: Greens' win means the future of British politics is more uncertain than ever; and Why are Afghanistan and Pakistan fighting?
Radio-sector items published alongside the BRITs coverage note Matt Edmondson and Mollie King launching a real-time whodunit podcast; Radio 2 in the Park heading to Stirling in Scotland for 2026; Jazz FM announcing the full lineup of awards nominees for 2026; a rebrand for the Radio Academy to Audio Academy and a new Chair appointment; Bauer taking BRITs coverage across Europe; Ofcom planning measures to force stations to create local news locally; CWR naming Lorna Bailey for weekday Breakfast; Dorset Coast Radio celebrating DAB+ expansion; and the Radio Maria chief signing off after expansion.
The brit awards 2026 weekend will move straight into live ceremony coverage on Saturday, with Capital’s weekend programming and scheduled live reporting at Co-op Live supporting the night’s red-carpet and winners’ room activity; further schedule details and post-show reporting will follow as outlined by the broadcasters’ planned programming.
