Brits 2026 (brits 2026): Six things to look out for in tonight's ceremony
The move to Manchester frames tonight’s Brits 2026 as the 46th edition and the first ceremony held outside London since the awards began in 1977. This guide sets out the key acts, nominations and local reaction ahead of the night.
Manchester’s new home for the awards
The ceremony has decamped to the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, a brand new home for the event. Another reference in coverage calls rehearsals at Manchester’s Co-Op Arena "closed door rehearsals, " barring everyone but essential staff. Organisers have described the move as the first venture outside London in the awards’ five-decade history.
Brits 2026: headline performers to watch
Harry Styles will give the first live performance of music from his fourth album, performing "Aperture, " described as a clubby, hypnotic single from his forthcoming record Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally. It is three years since Styles last played at the Brits, when he performed "As It Was, " sprinted around the O2 Arena in a spangly red suit jacket and left the ceremony with four trophies, including album of the year. Details of his performance are being kept secret; observers hope he will recreate the music video in which he gets into a massive brawl with a stalker that slowly turns into a dance routine and during which he is hoisted into the sky like Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing. Styles is also set to appear in a sketch with host Jack Whitehall. Whitehall said, "I had to send over a couple of ideas, because I don't think the first few were appropriate. " He added: "There was one that was me trekking for days trying to find him and he'd been living in a hut and he looked like Hagrid, and then it had me shaving him. "
Nominations and leading contenders
Olivia Dean and Lola Young, both Londoners, lead the nominations with five apiece. Olivia Dean and Lola Young had some of 2025's best-selling singles with "Man I Need" and "Messy, " both of which could earn them a Brit. Raye could pick up her eighth and ninth Brit Awards at the ceremony in Manchester. The shortlist recognises Lily Allen's bitter 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. The best British artist category is described as hard to call, with Olivia Dean, Lola Young, Lily Allen, Dave, Sam Fender and PinkPantheress all listed as deserving winners.
Who is expected to attend
Artists expected at the ceremony include Harry Styles, Olivia Dean, Sam Fender, Lola Young, Lily Allen, Ed Sheeran, Raye and Robbie Williams. Fringe programming around the awards has featured work with grassroots artists and intimate shows by pop stars including Olivia Dean and Robbie Williams in aid of the charity War Child.
Local reaction and industry voices
Stacey Tang, the Brit awards chair, framed the move to the Co-op Live arena as a recognition of geographic diversity: "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. " She described the approach from the local authority and from Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, as "really different" and said, "They've just really opened up the city. " Tang, who is also a co-president of RCA Records, part of Sony, said: "The investment that's being made in Manchester, the kinetic energy around the city is really palpable. There's always something that you can go to, meet other people who are like-minded, but also feel like 'oh, wow, I belong in this city', regardless of whether you live there or not. "
Jo Twist, the chief executive of the BPI, said research showed Manchester had consistently been the UK's top location for producing chart-toppers and argued the industry should do more to find talent locally: "Perhaps there has been a bit of a recent shift where the industry has recognised it should do more in actively finding talent and being there on its doorstep, supporting the ecosystem in meaningful ways. Global success stories do not just happen and artists don't become global successes overnight either – they can take years of label support. " Twist linked that change to the decision to move 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 prize went to Sam Fender, North Shields born and raised, who was able to celebrate in his home city.
Scott Lewis, the label manager at EMI North in Leeds, spent the week running workshops with up-and-coming artists, offering advice on approaching labels and giving feedback on demos. He said his role, established in 2023 as the first major label office outside London, was about recognising the difficulty northern musicians can face: "I do believe in the adage 'if you can see it, you can be it'. " The Manchester ceremony trails behind the Mobo awards, which have been held in several northern cities and will celebrate their 30th anniversary in Manchester at the end of March. Industry events in Manchester include the MTV European music awards, held at Co-op Live in 2024, and the Northern music awards, which launched in 2024.
Tonight’s ceremony in Manchester closes a week of local activity and national debate about where the biggest night in UK music should be held and who it should showcase.
