Olivia Dean Crowned UK Queen of Pop as BRITs Move to Manchester: Red Carpet, Performances and Nominations
The BRIT Awards night in Manchester saw olivia dean emerge as the defining presence of the evening: she performed at the show and won some of the night's biggest categories, including album and artist of the year, while the ceremony staged its first-ever move out of London. The shift and the wins matter because they reshuffle expectations for nominations, performances and the awards' national footprint.
Olivia Dean: wins, wardrobe and frontrunner status
Olivia Dean’s success at the ceremony was emphatic. She collected major prizes including album and artist of the year and performed on the night. Dean is also described as a frontrunner for best album: her second record, The Art of Loving, is presented as full of songs about the jeopardies and joys of falling in love and has topped the charts on four separate occasions since its release last October. On the red carpet she wore a yellow, floor-length gown consistent with a classic, sophisticated and elegant style.
BRITs relocation and edition details
The ceremony marked the 46th edition of the BRIT Awards and was staged outside London for the first time since the event’s inception in 1977. One account described it as the first time in the awards’ 50-year history that the BRITs swapped London for Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena. Rehearsal logistics were tight: details of performances were being kept secret, with closed-door rehearsals at Manchester’s Co-Op Arena restricting access to essential staff only.
Red carpet moments and coordinated looks
The red carpet was described as vibrant, with catwalk-ready looks from Olivia Dean, Rosalía and Harry Styles. Coordination was a theme: Wet Leg matched perfectly, and Kelly and Sharon Osbourne were noted for coordinated appearances. Maya Jama joked about the coincidence of the BRITs moving to Manchester when she did, having relocated to be with her boyfriend, Manchester City star Rúben Dias; she appeared in an all-white glittery dress with a flowing fur shawl, described as angelic. JADE, who earlier set a high bar with a previous-years’ performance that featured gigantic angel wings, looked ethereal on this red carpet in a voluminous peplum-skirted dress.
Harry Styles’ return, performance secrecy and new album timing
It was three years since Harry Styles last played at the BRITs. His last appearance included a performance of As It Was in a spangly red suit jacket and resulted in four trophies, including album of the year. For this ceremony he was one of the most hotly anticipated performers, walking the red carpet in a disco-approved pinstripe suit and scheduled to perform Aperture, a clubby, hypnotic single from his forthcoming record Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally. The timing noted was that the performance came a week before the release of his fourth studio album. Performance details were tightly controlled, and he was also set to appear in a sketch with host Jack Whitehall; Whitehall said he had to send over a couple of ideas because some early concepts were not appropriate, with one idea involving a long trek that evolved into a comedic image in rehearsal conversation.
Nominations, contenders and international winners
Two Londoners, Olivia Dean and Lola Young, led the nominations with five apiece. The shortlist was described as eclectic, with recognition for 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 was labelled hotly contested, listing Olivia Dean, Lola Young, Lily Allen, Dave, Sam Fender and PinkPantheress as deserving contenders. Lola Young’s song Messy was noted as a strong contender for song of the year; she performed it at last year’s BRIT Awards and the song remained on the charts during the eligibility period for the 2026 ceremony. Past patterns were recalled: multiple trophies in recent years for Harry Styles, Raye and Charli XCX had reflected periods when a single artist dominated.
International nominees, winners and notable absences
On the international side, Sombr was described as delivering a gothic look in red satin and black lace with tailored red trousers but left the night empty-handed after nominations for international artist and international song of the year. Rosé, identified as a singer-songwriter who is part of K-pop group BLACKPINK, picked up the award for international song of the year for APT, her duet with Bruno Mars, and attended the red carpet in a simple black bow dress that complemented her ice blonde hair.
These combined elements — the move to Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena, the closed rehearsals at the Co-Op Arena, heavy nomination battles led by Olivia Dean and Lola Young, headline performances and notable red carpet fashion — framed a BRITs edition that mixed tradition with clear change in geography and momentum.
