By Emma Rassi (Y8)
The Brit Awards are one of the biggest music award ceremonies in the United Kingdom. They celebrate the best artists, songs and albums of each year around the world. The 2026 Brit Awards were held on February 28th 2026, at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, and it marked the first time in the Brit Awards’ nearly 50-year history that it was held outside of London. Hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall, the night was full of legendary live performances, big losses, and even bigger wins.
The biggest headline of the night was the dominance of Olivia Dean, who was one of the clear stars of the ceremony. She was nominated for 5 categories and walked away with 4 awards, more than any other artist that night. Her awards included some of the most prestigious categories of the ceremony:
- British Artist of the Year
- Album of the Year – The Art of Loving
- Song of the Year – “Rein Me In” (with Sam Fender)
- Best Pop Act
Olivia Dean has already had an amazing year with her rise to the top of the charts, her upcoming world tour and her success at other award shows like the Grammys, so a lot of her wins were anticipated, but very well deserved in my opinion.
Although Olivia Dean took many major awards, there were also many other memorable wins, for example:
- Lola Young, who tied Olivia Dean for the number of nominations won for British Breakthrough artist
- Dave secured the award for Hip-Hop/Grime/Rap Act following the success of his album “The Boy Who Played the Harp”
- Special honours were also presented during the night. Mark Ronson received the outstanding contribution to music award, and Ozzy Ozbourn was given the lifetime achievement award
The ceremony also featured incredible performances with Harry Styles performing his song “Aperture”, the lead single of his new album “Kiss all the time, Disco occasionally”. “The performance had high-energy choreography and amazing singing. This was also the first live performance from Harry Styles in about three years, with his last major performance being the 2023 Brit Awards. His performance was a crowd-pleaser and got everyone excited for his upcoming tour. One of the most talked-about performances was when Rosalía performed “Berghain” and, midway through the performance, brought out Björk. The collaboration got everyone excited, and the up-tempo, dance-heavy song brought the whole crowd to their feet. Another memorable moment was when, to celebrate Mark Ronson’s career, the show played a medley of his biggest productions. The show also included many other performances featuring artists like Olivia Dean, RAYE, Wolf Alice, Alex Warren and more.
While the Brit Awards were amazing and well-loved, they also came with their complaints. One of the most controversial parts of the ceremony was the heavy censorship; several phrases, like political statements from artists, were muted or replaced. One example was when members of the band Geese, after winning best international group, included political messages in their speech that were primarily censored out. There were also many fans upset about many snubs during the ceremony, for example fan-favorite artists like Lily Allen and CMAT not winning any of their categories.
While the show seemed glamorous, it was a bit more chaotic behind the scenes, with some attendees complaining about rushed seating, strict after-party rules and issues with the venue, with some celebrities reportedly getting turned away from after-party events.
Though some aspects of the Brit Awards were messy, it was undoubtedly well-loved, and if I were you, I would go ahead and watch some of the performances (personally, I found them amazing!)