Awards shows like the BRITs often feel like intensely calculated and even grotesque displays of self-congratulation, providing car-crash television from out-of-touch celebrities. This year, however, the BRIT Awards moved away from their previous home at The O2 arena in London, looking to honour Manchester’s musical heritage by choosing Co-Op Live as their new location. Surprisingly, this choice worked: whilst the 2026 BRIT Awards did have its fair share of drivel, the vast majority of the ceremony celebrated some truly deserving artists, and Manchester’s cultural and musical legacy.
When the BRIT Awards nominations were initially announced, there was a striking lack of Manchester artists ranked among the selections: if we’re ignoring a single member of The Last Dinner Party, the only Manchester nominee was Chrystal, whose NOTION-assisted remix of ‘The Days’ received a nod for Song of the Year. However, between Noel Gallagher being honoured with the Songwriter of the Year award despite admitting himself that “I haven’t written a song in two years”, Shaun Ryder and Bez discussing their “42-year sexless marriage” on live national television, and Twitch stream star Angry Ginge declaring London a “shithole”, it’s safe to say that the BRITs did their best to honour Northern culture.
Manchester’s own Harry Styles opened the show with a live debut of ‘Aperture’, teasing fans with a dazzling spectacle ahead of his one-night-only event at the same venue the following weekend. As Styles waltzed down the stage’s catwalk, all he had to do was raise a single hand for artists, industry executives, press and general attendees to erupt into applause. With almost four years between the release of Harry’s House and Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, it’s clear that British music has missed its leading man. It doesn’t come as a surprise that tickets to the BRITs sold out quickly after his appearance was announced.
Credit: Samuel Chamberlain @ The Mancunion
Nobody has missed Harry Styles more than BRITs host, comedian Jack Whitehall, whose long-running obsession has become a mainstay of his material every year. After the live rendition of ‘Aperture’ which involved a recreation of its music video’s choreography, Whitehall compared the performance to the “musical equivalent of sitting on the washing machine”. It might not have been his funniest quip of the night, with that particular award going to a dig at Peter Mandelson that was subsequently edited out of the ITV broadcast, but it did reflect the physical and emotional experience of seeing Styles back on stage once again.
The first award of the night was presented by Robbie Williams, who delivered Song of the Year to Sam Fender and Olivia Dean for ‘Rein Me In’. “I said to Olivia before, if we win this, do you want to do the talking? She said no,”Fender stated, before thanking fans who participated in the award’s public vote. Sasha Keable then presented the Best Hip Hop, Grime and Rap Act award to Dave, who released his striking third album The Boy Who Played the Harp in October, but could not be in attendance on the night.
Whilst the voices of Huntr/x performed KPop Demon Hunters hit ‘Golden’ outside the arena, Olivia Dean took to the stage bathed in pink light, performing a lush rendition of her chart-storming hit single ‘Man I Need’. From the seats, she seemed entirely in her element, occupying every part of the stage with her signature dance moves. The performance solidified that Olivia Dean isn’t just a star in the making anymore but a fully-fledged artist in her own right.
Credit: Samuel Chamberlain @ The Mancunion
Up next was the award for Best British Group presented by Shaun Ryder and Bez of Happy Mondays. The pair were on top form, having clearly indulged in the BRITs sponsor Hennessy to the point where they struggled to make it up the stairs to the stage. Once they’d managed to announce Wolf Alice as the winners, frontwoman Ellie Rowsell expressed her gratitude before showing support for grassroots venues, stating “we want to dedicate this award to all the people who helped us out in the early years of Wolf Alice. Starting a band can be the hardest part… we’d like to also thank all the pubs, clubs and grassroots venues across the country. Thank you for opening your doors to us, and thank you to those who continually fight to keep them open.”
With the closure of grassroots spaces becoming increasingly common, Rowsell highlighted the importance of these venues in keeping culture alive. “Despite the billions of pounds the live sector contributes to our economy, last year thirty independent venues closed down, 6000 jobs were lost, and over half of small venues reported making no profit at all. It shouldn’t be a battle to survive as a band or an artist, we shouldn’t be reliant on favours or running off funding schemes.” After leaving the industry executives in the audience with something to think about, Rowsell ended the speech with an exclamation of “big up Manchester”.
Next up was Best Dance Act presented by Hacienda icon DJ Paulette, who herself was honoured at the 2024 Northern Music Awards hosted at Albert Hall. This went to Fred Again.., Skepta and PlaqueBoyMax, providing a ‘Victory Lap’ (forgive the pun) merited by their collaborative track which has been blasting through clubs in its various remixed forms since the moment it was teased. Although he wasn’t in attendance, it did seem strange that the award didn’t go to Fred again.. alone: his capacity to innovate in the modern electronic scene with his USB album and live shows are more than worthy of individual recognition.
Credit: Samuel Chamberlain @ The Mancunion
RAYE was next to perform, and although her medley of ‘WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!’ and recent single ‘Nightingale Lane’ displayed strong vocals, it seemed rushed and surprisingly wasn’t a standout of the night. Although her talent is undeniable, the intricacy of the former song has meant that RAYE has so far failed to successfully perform it in a live setting. What’s impressive about ‘WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!” is its intertwining layers of vocals and instrumentation, making it a landmark in music production but preventing it from translating well live.
2025 BRITs Rising Star winner Myles Smith presented the award for Breakthrough Artist to Lola Young, which came as a surprise to both her and the audience. After an extended break from the public eye, it’s evident that Young’s true breakthrough this year has been the resilience needed for her return. Luke Littler and Angry Ginge were then announced as the next presenters, odd choices for the International Song of the Year award. As ROSÉ of BLACKPINK won for her Bruno Mars collaboration ‘APT.’, the question on everyone’s minds was whether or not she knew of the pair previously. It's crossovers such as this that make the BRITs so exciting.
The BRIT Awards are always guaranteed to be full of surprises, and this year’s biggest shock came in the form of one woman: Björk. Materialising from behind ROSALÍA’s dance troupe, the elusive Icelandic star graced the UK stage for the first time since 2019 to perform her short verse in ‘Berghain’. Cameras and eyes alike lingered on her while Yves Tumor’s repeated line “I’ll fuck you ‘til you love me” played through Co-Op Live’s speakers, leaving the audience in a mixture of stunned silence and astonished screams.
Credit: Samuel Chamberlain @ The Mancunion
‘Berghain’ was released as the first single from ROSALÍA’s latest album LUX, a sonic masterpiece combining various genres and languages. The Spanish icon’s own performance cemented her as one of the most important artists of a generation, and the inclusion of the Heritage Orchestra elevated the live performance of ‘Berghain’, bringing new elements to a track which is already powerful enough to stop you in your tracks. Quite aptly for its title, ‘Berghain’ closed with a techno-inspired outro allowing ROSALÍA to join her dancers in hakken, a style originating in the Dutch hardcore rave scene. Words truly cannot do justice to ROSALÍA: she must be witnessed in order for her genius to be understood.
Later in the night, ROSALÍA became the first Spanish-language winner of the International Artist of the Year award, which was presented to her by JADE and Tems. As she ran up to deliver her speech, the cameras cut to fellow nominee CMAT in mock tears, leading the BBC to declare her the winner of “Best reaction shot” once the ceremony had concluded. “I was so grateful just to be here tonight, just to perform,” ROSALÍA stated as she accepted her award. “It’s such an honour to bring my music far from home, and I would love to share this with all my peers who also make music in Spanish.”
From TikTok to the BRITs stage, Alex Warren’s rise is baffling. As a founding member of the Hype House that brought various social media creators under one insufferable roof in late 2019, he has now turned to mediocre pop music to retain relevancy. His plan seems to have worked considering the success of his single ‘Ordinary’, a song which definitely lives up to its title. He might be destined for one-hit-wonder status, but it can’t be denied that he held his own at Co-Op Live, hitting every note to the surprise of many in attendance. James Blunt accompanied Warren on piano, before joining Maya Jama to present the award for British Artist of the Year which went to Olivia Dean. Throughout the night, Blunt seemed like a child on Christmas morning, recognising his position in the modern world of music by referencing a time “when I was relevant”.
Following on from his own win alongside Fred Again.. and PlaqueBoyMax, Skepta presented the Outstanding Contribution to Music award to Mark Ronson. Ronson performed an extended medley of six of his hits, featuring a tribute to Amy Winehouse with ‘Back to Black’ and ‘Valerie’. Surprise appearances came from Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah and Dua Lipa, who performed ‘Ooh Wee’ and a medley of ‘Dance The Night’ and ‘Electricity’ respectively. As Dua Lipa descended from the Co-Op Live roof on a glittering disco ball, the reaction was tantamount to the one received by Björk, making it clear that she is an artist of our generation who will be remembered for years to come.
Credit: Samuel Chamberlain @ The Mancunion
Positioned across the set of a living room, Wolf Alice performed ‘The Sofa’, a standout track from their recent record The Clearing which was nominated for British Album of the Year. While the album’s first single ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’ may have been the obvious choice for an awards show stage, ‘The Sofa’ represents everything great about The Clearing: it’s emotional, relatable, and musically striking. As the song reached its climax, Rowsell was held aloft by a troupe of dancers, in a theatrical display well worthy of a band who had that night been named Best British Group for the second time in their career. Despite a stage invasion stunt to promote his new single ‘Homewrecker’, sombr failed to reach the bar set so highly by Wolf Alice with his performance of ‘undressed’ and ‘back to friends’. Neither is as catchy as his other hit ’12 to 12’, and his stage presence is far more suited to crowds of screaming fans than the audience of the BRIT Awards.
Ending the night was a Robbie Williams-led supergroup tribute to Black Sabbath, honouring Ozzy Osbourne as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award. Although curated by Sharon Osbourne, who delivered a speech and accepted her husband’s posthumous award alongside her daughter Kelly, it was already evident from Williams' failed doom-metal vocals that the performance wouldn’t be a stand-out. Osbourne’s legacy cannot be denied, but a former member of Take That butchering ‘No More Tears’ certainly wasn’t the best way to honour it.
The remaining winners of the night were Geese for International Group of the Year presented by Cat Burns, Sault for Best R&B Act presented by Clara Amfo, Sam Fender for Best Alternative Rock Act presented by Jack Saunders, Olivia Dean for Best Pop Act presented by trophy designer Matthew Williamson and her sophomore record The Art of Loving for British Album of the Year presented by Jeff Goldblum. PinkPantheress had already been honoured as Producer of the Year, becoming both the first female recipient of the award and its youngest ever winner, while Jacob Alon was named the 2026 Critics’ Choice winner back in January.
With performances ranging from astonishing to abysmal, surprise appearances from stars both old and new, and plenty of awards going to deserving artists, this year seemed to be a typical BRITs, at least on the surface. However, the move to Manchester made 2026 something more than that. BRITs Week shows in support of War Child, an arts trail around the city centre and Fringe showcases spotlighting local artists put the intent to support Manchester’s cultural heritage and musical future into action. Here’s to hoping that the awards return to Co-Op Live for 2027.
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