Brit Awards push Manchester into the spotlight — who feels the change first and why it matters

The brit awards landing in Manchester is doing more than move a trophy night: it is putting local venues, grassroots artists and label infrastructure first — and those groups will feel the impact immediately. With headline performances, a fringe program of workshops and city-wide celebrations, Manchester is staged as a working music ecosystem rather than a one-night show.

Brit Awards' local impact: who is affected and how

Here’s the part that matters: the ceremony has shifted attention — and resources — toward northern artists and the venues that host them. The event’s presence has prompted temporary city branding (Deansgate renamed Olivia Deansgate), widespread billboards and an exhibition by Microdot highlighting Manchester’s musical heritage. Fringe activity has included workshops, vocal classes, networking sessions and performance slots that put up-and-coming acts in front of industry figures based in the region. That means more visible routes into labels and longer-term support opportunities for local scenes.

Event highlights and headline nominations

The 46th edition of the ceremony is being staged in Manchester for the first time since the awards began in 1977; it is described as the first venture outside London in the event’s five-decade history and is also characterized in coverage as the first time in more than a 40-year run that the ceremony has left the capital. Olivia Dean and Lola Young — both Londoners — lead the nominations with five apiece, and Grammy winners Olivia Dean and Lola Young are named as the frontrunners in the wider nomination lists. Raye could add an eighth and ninth Brit Award at tonight’s ceremony. The shortlist contains eclectic recognition: Lily Allen’s break-up album West End Girl, songs from the movie musicals Wicked and KPop Demon Hunters, and a best group nomination for resurgent Britpop band Pulp. Noel Gallagher will receive a special prize for songwriting.

Performances, rehearsals and onstage surprises

Major performances are on the card: Harry Styles will give the first live airing of music from his fourth album, delivering the single Aperture from his forthcoming record Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally. It has been three years since his last Brits appearance, when he performed As It Was — sprinting around the O2 Arena in a spangly red jacket and leaving with four trophies including album of the year — and this run of performances is being tightly staged with closed-door rehearsals at Manchester’s Co-Op Arena limited to essential staff. Styles is also set to appear in a sketch with host Jack Whitehall; early creative ideas were pared back after some were judged inappropriate, including an anecdotal sketch concept about trekking to find him living in a hut. Other confirmed performers include Wolf Alice and the singing voices credited for KPop Demon Hunters’ HUNTR/X: Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami.

Fringe activity, local infrastructure and industry signals

Fringe events have been active across the city: New Century Hall hosted workshops and panels as part of a week of activity. The building, reopened in 2022, carries a long history — hosting acts such as Jimi Hendrix and The Kinks in the 1960s and acid house parties in the 1980s before a period of vacancy and eventual revival. Brighter Sound organised sessions attracting around 1, 000 people to a Fringe Lab; artists on that circuit include Yelena Lashimba, who grew up near Chorlton and performs with Third Kulture, and members of Ishango Bone — Sonny Royle and Casey Bell — an electronic alternative rock trio formed about 18 months ago. Scott Lewis, label manager at EMI North based in Leeds, ran workshops offering label advice; his role was established in 2023 at what was the first major label office outside London. The industry-level picture includes comparisons with other events: the Mobo awards have toured northern cities and will mark a 30th anniversary in Manchester at the end of March, while the MTV European music awards were held at Co-op Live in 2024 and the Northern music awards launched in Manchester in 2024. The BPI’s leadership has highlighted Manchester as a top location for producing chart-toppers, and the organisation recently moved another major prize to a northern city after a decade-long London streak was broken.

Quick Q&A on immediate implications

• Q: Who gains most from this shift? A: Local artists, grassroots organisations and regional label offices who are getting direct access to industry attention and networking during fringe activity.
• Q: What would confirm this momentum endures? A: Continued label investment in northern offices, repeat hosting of major awards outside London and sustained workshop-to-deal outcomes for fringe participants.
• Q: How does tonight’s ceremony differ from recent years? A: The field feels less predictable after periods of single-artist dominance — recent multi-trophy runs by Harry Styles, Raye and Charli XCX gave way to a more open set of contenders this year.

It’s easy to overlook, but the visible civic gestures — a renamed station, art trails and lifted hotel lobbies — signal more than decoration: they are part of an effort to reframe where major music moments happen. A short aside: the scale of fringe programming and the presence of label staff in workshops suggests this won’t be just a one-off splash for the city, though how that translates into long-term deals and career trajectories is unclear in the provided context.