The biggest stars in pop and rock are gathering in Manchester ahead of the 46th edition of the Brit Awards.
It’s the first time the ceremony has been held outside London since its inception in 1977 – but two Londoners, Olivia Dean and Lola Young, lead the nominations with five apiece.
The eclectic shortlist also sees 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.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the ceremony.
1) Harry Styles returns
It’s three years since Harry Styles last played at the Brits.
Back then, he played As It Was, sprinting around the O2 Arena in a spangly red suit jacket, before walking off with four trophies, including album of the year.
This year, he’ll be performing Aperture – the clubby, hypnotic single from his forthcoming record Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally (great title, no notes).
We’re hoping he’ll recreate the music video, where he gets into a massive brawl with a stalker that slowly turns into a dance routine, during which Harry is hoisted into the sky like Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing.
Details of the performance are being kept secret – with “closed door rehearsals” at Manchester’s Co-Op Arena barring everyone but essential staff.
But we do know that Styles will appear in a sketch with host Jack Whitehall.
“I had to send over a couple of ideas, because I don’t think the first few were appropriate,” the comedian told ITV’s Jonathan Ross Show.
“There was one that was me trekking for days trying to find him and he’d been living in a hut and he looked like Hagrid, and then it had me shaving him.
“I got a hard no from his team.”
2) The big awards are too close to call
For the last couple of years, the Brits have been too predictable.
Multiple trophies for Harry Styles (2023), Raye (2024) and Charli XCX (2025) reflected a period where one artist could dominate, as new talent struggled to break through.
This year is different. Some of the categories are impossible to call – especially the hotly-contested best British artist, where Olivia Dean, Lola Young, Lily Allen, Dave, Sam Fender and PinkPantheress would all be deserving winners.
Dean is considered front-runner for best album. Her second record, The Art of Loving, is brimming with memorable songs about the jeopardies and joys of falling in love. Since its release last October, it has topped the charts on four separate occasions.
But she faces strong competition from Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender and a resurgent Lily Allen, whose candid exposé of her failing marriage became one of last year’s most talked-about albums.
Lola Young’s Messy – another unflinching portrait of romantic disharmony – is a strong contender for song of the year. (She actually performed it at last year’s Brit Awards, but it remained on the charts during the eligibility period for the 2026 ceremony.)
Her rivals for that prize include Raye’s blockbuster R&B anthem Where Is My Husband and Myles Smith’s ubiquitous radio hit Nice To Meet You.
Dean, meanwhile, has two chances at winning the title with Man I Need and Rein Me In, the latter a chart-topping duet with Fender.
3) A tribute to The Prince of Darkness
Ozzy Osbourne – aka The Godfather of Heavy Metal, aka The Prince Of Darkness – was a singular talent and one of the UK’s most beloved musicians.
He died last July, just weeks after a farewell concert in his hometown of Birmingham, and the Brits will honour him on Saturday with a posthumous lifetime achievement award.
A tribute performance will include a special arrangement of his 1991 song No More Tears, curated by his wife Sharon Osbourne and fronted by Robbie Williams.
And with the Foo Fighters playing Manchester the night before the Brits, there’s a distinct possibility they’ll also turn up to pay respect to the man who started it all.
4) Jarvis Cocker lays a ghost to rest
Pulp are up for best group, 30 years after Jarvis Cocker stormed the stage during Michael Jackson’s performance at the 1996 Brits.
The frontman took umbrage at Jackson presenting himself as a messianic figure, protecting hundreds of children, calling the display “distasteful and crap”.
In protest, he jumped on stage, wiggled his bottom at the cameras, made a strange wafting gesture with his hands and beat a hasty retreat, pursued by Jackson’s security team.
“For a while, I thought that was really the only thing I was going to ever be remembered for,” he told the BBC last month.
“It put me into a kind of recognisability bracket that I could never have imagined. I’d always wanted to be famous from being a young kid. I got it, and then I regretted it.
“So the fact that we have been nominated [again] for some music that we’ve made, I feel like that’s laid that to rest. So I’m very, very happy.”
5) Four people already know they’ve won
This lot don’t have an excuse if they forget to thank their mum in their speeches…
Mark Ronson is getting the Outstanding Contribution award in recognition of hits like Back To Black, Uptown Funk, Dance The Night and Valerie – all of which should feature in a star-studded performance at the culmination of the show.
Meanwhile, hometown hero Noel Gallagher will receive Songwriter of the Year, much to his own bemusement.
“I haven’t written a song for two years,” he confessed to Talksport radio. “I’m not sure how I’ve got away with that one but I’ll take it.”
By contrast, PinkPantheress released two wildly successful albums last year – more than earning her title as Producer Of The Year.
She’s the first woman to win that prize, a feat she called “bittersweet“.
Finally, Jacob Alon is the recipient of the rising star prize, which recognises emerging talent.
The Scottish star, whose stunning voice and delicate folk ballads earned them a Mercury Prize nomination last year, is also set to perform at the ceremony.
6) Who could make and break records?
With more than 90 nominees across 18 categories, there are a few achievements up for grabs. Here are some of the big ones.
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If Raye wins both of her categories – best pop artist and best single – she’ll tie with Coldplay as the third most successful act in the history of the Brits.
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Taylor Swift could break her losing streak in the best international artist category. Amazingly, she’s never won the prize, despite being nominated every year since it was created in 2022. (She did win the equivalent award, best international female, in 2015).
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Huntr/x – the fictional girl band from the Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters – are up for two prizes – best international single and best international group. A win in either category would be the first ever K-Pop victory at the Brit Awards.
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If Jade Thirlwall is named artist of the year, she’ll be the first woman to collect both that trophy and the award for best group – which she received as part of Little Mix in 2021. George Michael is the only male artist to have been awarded both prizes.
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No-one who performs in a foreign language has ever won best international artist. That could change forever on Saturday, with Bad Bunny, Rosalía and CMAT all in the running for the prize. Bad Bunny sings exclusively in Spanish, while CMAT’s Euro-Country album features selected lyrics in Gaelic. Rosalía tops them all by performing in Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Portuguese, Sicilian and Ukrainian.
How to watch the Brit Awards
Inside the UK, the ceremony is broadcast live on ITV and ITVX from 20:15 GMT.
The show will also be streamed on ITV’s YouTube, external page in the UK, while international viewers should visit the Brits’ official YouTube channel., external
BBC News will be interviewing the stars on the red carpet from 17:00GMT. You can watch the live stream on the BBC News website, which will also host running text commentary from the ceremony.
And who is performing?
Taking to the stage at the Co-Op Arena are (in no particular order) are:
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Harry Styles
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Olivia Dean
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Wolf Alice
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Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami (Huntr/x)
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Alex Warren
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Mark Ronson
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Rosalía
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Sombr
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Raye
