All eyes on Manchester! A roundup of The BRIT Awards 2026 with Mastercard
All eyes were on Manchester this evening for The BRIT Awards 2026 with Mastercard as it made its way out of the capital and up North for the first time in its nearly five-decade history. Taking over the city’s Co-op Live, tonight was a landmark celebration of the biggest and most iconic names in British and international music. Fans tuned in from all over the country, and across the world, for an electric year one of two in one of the UK’s most exciting and vibrant cities, with The BRITs delivering a jam-packed two and a half hour show, hosted by award-winning comedian, actor, presenter and writer Jack Whitehall. The ceremony featured award wins that recognised the artists that achieved significant commercial and chart impact in the previous year, as well as celebrating legends and icons for their undeniable influence on music and culture, along with 10 phenomenal performances across five stages within the arena, that boasted special guests galore, to make this one of the biggest and boldest BRIT Awards in history.
For the first time ever, UK viewers could watch the show on ITV’s YouTube channel, as well as on ITV1 and ITVX, with fans outside of the UK catching the show via The BRITs’ YouTube channel for the 13th year, and the winners’ trophy for this year’s BRIT Awards was designed by internationally acclaimed and Manchester-born creative Matthew Williamson.
Having received five nominations, British breakout star Olivia Dean won the most awards on the night, tracking a huge year that saw her pick up Best New Artist at last month’s Grammy awards, as well as becoming the first woman in UK chart history to land a debut No. 1 single and album in the same week. Olivia was presented with Artist of the Year, Mastercard Album of the Year and Pop Act, and performed an elegant rendition of ‘Man I Need’ during the show.
A fourth award win was added to her haul with victory in Song of the Year with Mastercard for ‘Rein Me In’, the single remix of 2025 Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender’s original song, which currently sits atop of the UK Singles chart for the consecutive second week. Both artists took to the stage to receive the award from Robbie Williams. This award was voted for by fans this year (along with International Song of the Year) through WhatsApp as part of a wider partnership between The BRITs and Meta.
Sam Fender was back on stage later in the show to collect the award for Alternative/Rock Act, for the second year running.
Having equalled Olivia Dean for the most nominations this year with five, as well as being fellow BRIT School alumni, British standout star Lola Young won her first ever BRIT award for Breakthrough Artist, and accepted the award from 2025’s BRITs Critics’ Choice winner, Myles Smith.
After being the subject of a classic Jack Whitehall-comedy sketch that kicked off proceedings, global superstar Harry Styles officially opened the show with a worldwide exclusive performance of ‘Aperture’ from his fiercely anticipated new album. The critically-acclaimed Wolf Alice were presented with Group of the Year by Manchester music royalty Shaun Ryder and Bez; the same award they won in 2022, and performed a stunning version of ‘The Sofa’, which saw the band moving from stage to stage accompanied by dancers and captured in a one-camera shot.
Genre-defying Grammy-award winning Spanish pop star ROSALÍA won her first BRIT award for International Artist of the Year and delivered a visionary performance of ‘Berghain’, for which she brought out the Heritage Orchestra and Björk - the Icelandic artist’s first appearance at The BRIT Awards in ten years. International Song of the Year went to ROSÉ & Bruno Mars for ‘APT.’, the record-breaking and best-selling global single of 2025 - and the first ever BRIT award win for a K-pop artist. The BRITs this year broke another record for this globally-dominant genre, by presenting its first performance from a K-pop act; EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI, the singing voices of HUNTR/X from Netflix’s global phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters, came to Manchester earlier this week for a special and pyro-laden performance of their BRIT-nominated track ‘Golden’, outside the Co-op Live in front of an invited audience of fans which was played out during the live broadcast.
Internationally celebrated musician, producer and DJ Mark Ronson was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Music award for playing a pivotal role in shaping era-defining and multi-platinum records for renowned artists worldwide, whilst also achieving significant international recognition as both a solo artist and producer, and marked the moment with a spectacular career-spanning medley, for which he was joined by Dua Lipa and Ghostface Killah (with Serge Pizzorno as a surprise ‘chaffeur’), with Amy Winehouse’s band.
Announced in advance of the show, PinkPantheress was this year’s Producer of the Year winner, and Jacob Alon won the BRITs’ Critics’ Choice award. Manchester legend Noel Gallagher was presented by Bobby Gillespie with the Songwriter of the Year award, in acknowledgment of the songwriting that has permeated the fabric of British culture for over three decades, and that continues to resonate with audiences around the world, not least shown over the last year through the triumphant and record-breaking Oasis world tour.
Global rock icon Ozzy Osbourne was honoured with a BRITs Lifetime Achievement award, in recognition and celebration of his inimitable impact and influence on music worldwide. This award was introduced by country music icon and close friend Dolly Parton through a VT message, and was accepted in person by Sharon Osbourne. An all-star rock tribute performance of ‘No More Tears’ followed the award presentation to close the show, fronted by Robbie Williams and featuring musicians that played as part of Ozzy’s band over the years: Adam Wakeman, Robert Trujillo, Tommy Clufetos and Zakk Wylde.
International Artist of the Year went to Brooklyn rock band Geese, who were presented with their award by Cat Burns; with No. 1 selling rapper and songwriter Dave winning Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act for the second time, having first won this award in 2022, and Dance Act went to former Producer of the Year winner and critically acclaimed producer and artist Fred again.., and multi-faceted rapper and producer Skepta along with US producer PlaqueBoyMax, with Skepta collecting the award on their behalf. Anonymous multi-genre music collective SAULT were honoured with R&B Act.
In the middle of her own UK tour, BRIT record-holder RAYE performed a two-song medley of ‘Where is My Husband’ and ‘Nightingale Lane’, and two more artists made their BRITs performance debut; Alex Warren gave The BRITs a unique version of his record-breaking hit single ‘Ordinary’, accompanied by James Blunt on piano and the Halle orchestra from Manchester, and Gen-Z rock star heir apparent SOMBR performed ‘Undressed’ and ‘Back to Friends’ in a dynamic rock ‘n’ roll set.
A touching In Memoriam segment earlier in the night, paid tribute to a number of artists and industry figureheads that sadly passed in the previous year, with Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess invited onto the BRITs stage to speak about Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist Mani, who passed away last November.
Awards presenters included: Cat Burns, Clara Amfo, JADE, Jeff Goldblum, Maya Jama, Myles Smith, Skepta, Shaun Ryder and Bez and Tems.
Earlier on the Red Carpet Livestream, which broadcast on The BRITs’ Instagram and Facebook, hosts Tyler West and Charley Marlowe brought viewers and fans all the action as nominees, performers, presenters and more arrived for the big night.
The BRITs 2026 was chaired by Stacey Tang (co-President of RCA Records, Sony Music UK) who oversaw the BRITs creative team which included set and stage design by Misty Buckley, BRITs TV Executive Producer Sally Wood and BRITs TV Director Phil Heyes.
Stacey Tang commented: “Tonight felt like a landmark moment for the BRIT Awards. Bringing the ceremony to Manchester for the first time in its history gave the show a new kind of energy and the city met us with the openness it’s famous for. What unfolded on stage - from boundary‑pushing performances to career defining moments - reflected a year characterised by artistic ambition and the international pull of UK music. At its core, The BRIT Awards exist to celebrate creativity in the UK and across the globe. In times that are tumultuous and uncertain, music remains one of the most powerful forces for connection, fostering community and joy.”
The BRITs Voting Academy - responsible for determining the nominees and the overall winners of categories including Artist of the Year, Mastercard Album of the Year and Breakthrough Artist - is comprised of approximately 1200 members who are responsible for shaping the creative and commercial success of the British music industry, including artists, producers, labels, retailers, publishers, managers, media, live, social and DSPs. Since 2017, the BRITs Voting Academy has undergone an annual refresh to ensure its membership is inclusive and relevant, as well as being representative of today’s industry with members aligned on an artist-first approach. The BRITs’ commitment to diversity is supported with a balanced split of women and men, as well as representation of members who identify outside the gender binary, and with a quarter of those who vote identify as being from a Black, Asian or ethnic minority background. The Academy and the voting process is overseen by Civica – an independent voting scrutineer.
And The Winners Are…. (in order presented on the night)
AWARD - SONG OF THE YEAR WITH MASTERCARD
Winner - Sam Fender (with Olivia Dean)
Presenter: Robbie Williams
AWARD - HIP HOP/GRIME/RAP ACT
Winner: Dave
Presenter: Sasha Keable
AWARD - GROUP OF THE YEAR
Winner - Wolf Alice
Presenters: Bez and Shaun Ryder
AWARD - DANCE ACT
Winner: Fred again../Skepta/PlaqueBoyMax
Presenter: DJ Paulette
AWARD - BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
Winner: Lola Young
Presenter: Myles Smith
AWARD - INTERNATIONAL SONG OF THE YEAR
Winner: ROSÉ & Bruno Mars
Presenters: AngryGinge and Luke Littler
AWARD - ALTERNATIVE / ROCK ACT
Winner - Sam Fender
Presenter: Jack Saunders
AWARD - INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Winner: Geese
Presenter: Cat Burns
AWARD - POP ACT
Winner: Olivia Dean
Presenter: Matthew Williamson
AWARD - SONGWRITER
Winner: Noel Gallagher
Presenter: Bobby Gillespie
AWARD - OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION
Winner: Mark Ronson
Presenter: Skepta
AWARD - R&B ACT
Winner: SAULT
Presenter: Clara Amfo
AWARD - INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Winner - ROSALÍA
Presenters: JADE and Tems
AWARD - ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Olivia Dean
Presenters: Maya Jama and James Blunt
AWARD - MASTERCARD ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Olivia Dean
Presenter: Jeff Goldblum
AWARD - LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Winner: Ozzy Osbourne
Presenter: Dolly Parton (on VT)