Dua Lipa leads stars at Warner Music & Hennessy BRITs afterparty after surprise Co-op Live set
dua lipa made a surprise appearance during the BRIT Awards ceremony and then led the guests at Warner Music & Hennessy’s lavish afterparty in Manchester, an event that mirrored the ceremony’s significance by beginning hours earlier on a chartered 1940s train. The party’s scale and roster of performers and attendees underscored the BRITs’ move to Manchester this year.
Warner’s celebrations began on the British Pullman and ran to Cut and Craft
Warner Music’s BRITs festivities began on the British Pullman, a 1940s upholstered train known as a favourite of the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II, travelling from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly so guests could make it to the ceremony. The boarding party on Saturday (February 28) included Beth Ditto, Geri Halliwell’s daughter Bluebell Horner, Nick Grimshaw, Jaime Winston and Lennon Gallagher. The Warner Music & Hennessy afterparty itself was staged at Cut and Craft on Mosley Street inside a Grade II* listed former banking hall.
Dua Lipa’s surprise Co-op Live performance and her look at Cut and Craft
Dua Lipa, 30, made a surprise performance at the nearby Co-op Live Arena during the BRITs and then led the stars at the Warner Music & Hennessy afterparty. At the party she stunned in a sculpted black corset and a figure-hugging skirt, adding diamond chandelier earrings, matching bracelets and glam make-up. Earlier at the ceremony she joined Mark Ronson onstage to perform 'Dance The Night' and 'Electricity' as part of his set.
Mark Ronson’s career-spanning medley and tribute to Amy Winehouse
Mark Ronson was recognised at the ceremony for his Outstanding Contribution to Music and followed that with a career-spanning medley. He opened the set with an appearance from Ghostface Killah for the 2003 hit 'Ooh Wee', paid tribute to Amy Winehouse with a rendition of 'Back To Black', and then invited the Dap-Kings onstage to perform 'Valerie'. In his acceptance remarks Ronson reflected on meeting Winehouse, saying that on Thursday March 6 it would be 20 years to the day since she turned up at his studio in New York City, recounted their long conversation and the night they wrote 'Back To Black', and thanked fans for putting his songs into their lives. Ronson’s catalogue includes hits such as 'Uptown Funk' and 'Nothing Breaks Like A Heart', and his honours include two BRIT Awards, nine Grammys and both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for co-writing 'Shallow' with Lady Gaga.
BRITs in Manchester: hosts, performers and winners
The 46th edition of the BRIT Awards took place at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena for the first time in the show’s history. Jack Whitehall hosted the ceremony for a sixth time. Performers across the night included Harry Styles, who gave his first public performance in three years, a surprise appearance from Bjork alongside Rosalía, Olivia Dean, HUNTR/X’s EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI, Wolf Alice, Alex Warren, Sombr and RAYE as well as Mark Ronson. Olivia Dean, 26, was a standout winner, taking home four awards—Best Artist, Best Album, Best Song and Best Pop Act—and was nominated in Song of the Year for 'Man I Need' and for 'Rein Me In' with Sam Fender, the latter of which won. Olivia also became the first woman since Adele in 2021 to claim the UK’s No 1 single and album in the same week, with 'Man I Need' and the album The Art Of Loving, both released in 2025. Other notable winners and honorees included Sam Fender, Noel Gallagher—who attended and was awarded Songwriter Of The Year—and Rosalia. PinkPantheress was noted as the youngest recipient and first female win in a referenced category. Lily Allen, despite a strong chart year with her fifth studio album West End Girl, did not take home awards and failed to beat Olivia Dean in the categories Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Best Pop Act.
Cut and Craft afterparty theme, installations, DJs and guests
The afterparty at Cut and Craft was tailored to a 24 Hour Poodles Party theme, blending British eccentricity with Manchester’s clubbing legacy. A five-metre-tall poodle installation greeted guests at the entrance, and the interior was transformed into an extravagant poodle parlour with oversized poodle inflatables, marble finishes, glam bots and a specially laid poodle-motif carpet. Archival images of cultural icons with their dogs—listed in event coverage as including Davie Bowie and Winston Churchill—were displayed around the venue. Warner partnered with 1X for the event, and humanoid robots greeted guests and danced on the red carpet; the sound design used immersive L-Acoustics and the interiors were described as surreal and club-inspired.
