Brit Awards in Manchester: Six things to look out for at the 46th ceremony

The brit awards have landed in Manchester for the 46th edition, the first time the ceremony has been staged outside London since its inception in 1977. The move has brought big-name nominees and performers to the city and a programme of fringe events, making the night feel like more than a single awards show.

Harry Styles will debut Aperture and appear in a Jack Whitehall sketch

Harry Styles is billed to give the first live performance of music from his fourth album, singing Aperture from his forthcoming record Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally. It is three years since he last played at the Brits; that previous appearance saw him perform As It Was while sprinting around the O2 Arena in a spangly red suit jacket and leave with four trophies, including album of the year.

Details of the new performance are being kept tight, with closed-door rehearsals at Manchester's Co-Op Arena limiting attendance to essential staff. Styles will also appear in a sketch with host Jack Whitehall; Whitehall said he "had to send over a couple of ideas, because I don't think the first few were appropriate, " describing one sketch in which he treks to find Styles living in a hut, looking like Hagrid, and shaves him.

Olivia Dean and Lola Young lead nominations — and are Grammy winners

Grammy winners Olivia Dean and Lola Young head the nominations, with both artists leading the 2026 Brits nominations and each nominated in five categories. The two Londoners had some of 2025's best-selling singles — Olivia Dean with Man I Need and Lola Young with Messy — both of which could earn them a Brit.

The best British artist category is hotly contested: alongside Olivia Dean and Lola Young, Lily Allen, Dave, Sam Fender and PinkPantheress are all named as deserving contenders for the trophy.

Raye, Pulp and an eclectic shortlist across albums and film music

Raye could add to her tally at the Manchester ceremony, potentially picking up her eighth and ninth Brit Awards. The shortlist is unusually wide-ranging this year, recognising Lily Allen's bitter break-up album West End Girl, songs taken from the movie musicals Wicked and KPop Demon Hunters, and awarding a best group nomination to the resurgent Britpop band Pulp.

Organisers note the variety as a break from a recent spell when single artists tended to dominate multiple categories.

Manchester's welcome: temporary signs, fringe shows and civic backing

Visitors arriving in the city have been posing at a temporary Olivia Deansgate station sign, a small symbol of how Manchester is embracing the event. The awards have run a fringe programme across the city that features work with grassroots artists and intimate shows by pop stars including Olivia Dean and Robbie Williams in aid of the charity War Child.

Stacey Tang, the brit awards chair, said the move to the Co-op Live arena was intended to recognise the geographical diversity of the UK's music talent, adding that "creativity doesn't happen in one postcode in the UK... so the idea that the biggest night in music should always be in London, I think, is ageing out. " Tang, who is also co-president of RCA Records, part of Sony, praised the local authority and Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, for opening up the city and said "the investment that's being made in Manchester, the kinetic energy around the city is really palpable. "

The Manchester ceremony sits alongside other events that have shifted north in recent years: the MTV European music awards were held at Co-op Live in 2024, the Northern music awards launched in Manchester in 2024, and the Mobo awards will mark their 30th anniversary in Manchester at the end of March.

Performers, the red carpet and the In Memoriam tributes

Line-up announcements and red-carpet moments underline the evening's scope. Noel Gallagher will receive a special prize for songwriting. Performers set to appear include Harry Styles, Wolf Alice and Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, named as the singing voices of KPop Demon Hunters' HUNTR/X. The latest boyband formed by Simon Cowell, as seen in the series The Next Act last year, are also listed as up next on December 10; two members of that band, Josh Fadare and Danny Bretherton, are from Chorley, Greater Manchester.

The new band members say Cowell's advice to them has been to treat everyone they meet with respect, and when asked who they are most looking forward to seeing tonight their answer was "everyone, " while giving particular shout-outs to Olivia Dean, Sombr and Sam Fender. Early arrivals on the red carpet included a number of stars whose fashion choices set the tone for the evening.

The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess will lead the show's In Memoriam section, which will include a tribute to Mani, the bassist for The Stone Roses who died last year. Burgess described Mani as "one of the phenomenal ones" who are "very few and far between, " and said he was an incredible person who "always had time for everybody. " Burgess, who lives in Norfolk, joked he had "a long drive" this morning and said "the city's been ready for it" and that excitement has been growing for months.

Local artists are also taking part: Thom Rylance, a music producer and frontman of The Lottery Singers from Greater Manchester, said it was his first Brit Awards and that attending on home turf was "a big deal. " Rylance added, "It's about time, isn't it? We've got loads of great music... so let's have a big party. "

Industry voices on northern investment and past dominance

Voices from the industry underline why the move matters. Jo Twist, chief executive of the BPI, said research shows Manchester has consistently been the UK's top location for producing chart-toppers and argued the industry should do more to find talent on its doorstep and support ecosystems that create global success over years of label backing. Twist pointed to the decision behind moving the Mercury prize to Newcastle last year for the first time, after the Leeds band English Teacher finally broke a decade-long streak of London winners in 2024.

The 2025 Mercury prize went to Sam Fender, who was born and raised in North Shields and celebrated in his home city. Scott Lewis, label manager at EMI North based in Leeds, has spent the week running workshops with up-and-coming artists, offering advice on approaching labels and feedback on demos. Lewis said his role, established in 2023 at what was the first major label office outside London, exists because it can be harder for northern musicians to get a look-in — "if you can see it, you can be it, " he said.

After years in which individual acts dominated the event—Harry Styles in 2023, Raye in 2024 and Charli XCX in 2025—the brit awards in Manchester feel designed to spread the spotlight across a broader array of talent, live performances and local celebration.