Manchester Hosts First Brit Awards Outside London as 46th Ceremony Opens

The 46th brit awards moved to Manchester for the first time outside London since the ceremony began in 1977, drawing major performances and a crowded slate of nominees. The shift has been staged as a deliberate effort to recognise geographic diversity in the UK music scene and to put northern venues, artists and industry infrastructure at the centre of the night.

Co-op Live and the Brit Awards move north

The ceremony was held at Co-op Live, the arena hosting a full weekend of activity and closed-door rehearsals. Visitors arriving into the city noticed a temporary Olivia Deansgate station sign that prompted selfies; organisers have run a fringe programme featuring grassroots showcases and intimate shows by Olivia Dean and Robbie Williams in aid of the charity War Child. Stacey Tang, chair of the event and co-president of RCA Records, part of Sony, described the move as an attempt to reflect that "creativity doesn’t happen in one postcode" and said the approach from the local authority and Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, had helped "open up the city. "

Organisers pointed to a growing northern music infrastructure: the MTV Europe Music Awards staged at Co-op Live in 2024, the launch of the Northern music awards in 2024, and a longstanding string of events such as the Mobo awards being held outside London in previous years. Jo Twist, chief executive of the BPI, said the organisation’s research shows Manchester has consistently been a top location for producing chart-toppers, a factor behind moves such as shifting the Mercury Prize to Newcastle last year. That change followed a 2024 win by Leeds band English Teacher, which broke a decade-long streak of London winners, and the 2025 Mercury prize went to Sam Fender, who celebrated in his home city. Scott Lewis, label manager at EMI North in Leeds, has spent the week running workshops for up-and-coming artists; his role was established in 2023 when EMI opened its first major label office outside London.

Olivia Dean, Lola Young and the nominations

Grammy winners Olivia Dean and Lola Young led the nominations, each with five. Dean and Young had two of 2025’s best-selling singles—Dean’s Man I Need and Young’s Messy—both seen as contenders for awards. The shortlist also recognised Lily Allen’s 2025 album West End Girl, the Pulp reunion with a best group nod, and material tied to film musicals including Wicked and KPop Demon Hunters.

The early awards sequence saw Sam Fender and Olivia Dean named winners of the first prize of the night for their collaboration Rein Me In; Fender thanked Dean and fans onstage, and Dean described the song as "a beautiful song. " Presenters included Robbie Williams for the best song award. A brief line in the broadcast noting that "the rapper isn't at the ceremony tonight" is unclear in the provided context.

Harry Styles' Aperture and Jack Whitehall's opening sketch

Harry Styles opened the live broadcast with Aperture, the single from his forthcoming album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, performing on a stage that extended into the crowd with dancers initially seated on bleachers. It was Styles’ first Brit performance in three years; when he last appeared he performed As It Was at the O2 Arena in a spangly red suit jacket, sprinted around the venue and left with four trophies including album of the year. Closed-door rehearsals at the Co-op Arena limited access to essential staff only.

Host Jack Whitehall opened with a sketch that repeatedly referenced his admiration for Styles—part of a broader comic warm-up that included the line that the Brits "have done what most people have to do in their 40s" and have "moved out of London. " Whitehall also described submitting multiple sketch ideas to Styles and joking about an early concept involving a Hagrid-like character and a shaving scene.

KPop Demon Hunters, Wolf Alice and Noel Gallagher

Recorded earlier and filmed outside Co-op Live with fireworks, the singing voices of KPop Demon Hunters—Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami—performed Golden from the film and are nominated for international group of the year and international song of the year. Wolf Alice was also scheduled to perform. Noel Gallagher is set to receive a special songwriting prize later in the evening; Whitehall referred to him as a "Manchester final boss" while highlighting the longevity of Gallagher’s songwriting career. The ceremony also made room to highlight Lily Allen’s West End Girl and other recent successes on the shortlist.

Winners, records and the changing landscape

The event underscored a change from recent years of concentrated domination—previous seasons saw multiple trophies for Harry Styles in 2023, Raye in 2024 and Charli XCX in 2025. Raye was mentioned as a potential winner who could pick up an eighth and ninth Brit Award at the Manchester ceremony. Organisers and industry figures framed the move north as part of a larger effort to expand access to label attention, live opportunities and career-building support outside London, an approach reflected in the week’s workshops and industry activity across the city.

What makes this notable is the combination of a landmark venue change, a high-profile opening performance, and visible city-wide engagement—from temporary station signage to backstage artist development—suggesting the organisers intend the night to be both a celebration of winners and a statement about where British music is made and nurtured.