BRIT Awards 2026 Feel Right At Home In Manchester & Sound Better Than Ever With Show-Stopping Performances By Olivia Dean, Harry Styles, Mark Ronson & More

The 2026 BRIT Awards went down in Manchester, England, Feb. 28 – the first edition outside the UK capital London in the award’s 49-year history. Naturally, everybody wondered how the BRITs would fare in the North of England, and the answer, after reading most of the post-event coverage, seems to be a resounding “very well!”

Pollstar was on site, too, witnessing Olivia Dean take home all four awards she was nominated in, becoming the night’s big winner. She also performed her hit single “Man I Need” live, and delivered a classy, uplifting, stellar-sounding show, which is really a verdict that applies to every performer on the night.

From Harry Styles, who opened the show with “Aperture”, accompanied by a powerful choir, to Robbie Williams, who closed the show with a tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne, accompanied by Metallica’s Robert Trujillo on bass, and Ozzy’s long-time guitarist Zakk Wylde.

The live performances focused on what matters: vocal prowess and a tight delivery from the bands/orchestras, instead of flashy gimmicks distracting from both. Thanks to the thoughtful set design and usage of modular, movable LED screens, it all looked fantastic on screen.

What the viewers at home lacked, though, was the incredible sound inside Co-op Live, the host venue. If you didn’t believe the many promoters and artists who’ve worked inside the building since it opened in May 2024, you could hear it for yourself on BRITs night: crisp, rich, mostly brilliant – proof that developers OVG (Pollstar’s parent company) didn’t spare any expenses when it came to all things relating to acoustics inside the building.

The sound design on the night came from Brit Row, led by Josh Lloyd, who’ve been supplying the BRITs for the past 31 years.

The live performances were such a joy to watch, they made you instantly forget that you were actually attending a TV broadcast. This made the frequent commercial breaks and stage modifications all the more annoying. There’s no way around that, of course, but you just wanted to hear more music.

Thankfully, there was a lot of that: Ghostface Killah made a surprise guest appearance during Mark Ronson‘s performance, spitting his “Ooh Wee” verse and reminding everyone that it was NYC where Ronson first made his mark as a DJ and producer.

Ronson won this year’s BRIT Award for his Outstanding Contribution to Music. His performance also featured an Amy Winehouse tribute, as well as another surprise guest appearance by Dua Lipa, who came down from the ceiling hovering on a gigantic disco ball.

Alex Warren celebrated his redemption from a technically-marred Grammy performance by delivering an extraordinary rendition of “Ordinary,” backed by a full orchestra and James Blunt on the piano. Again, the L-Acoustics kit from Brit Row played to its full strength.

Wolf Alice won Group of the Year, and performed their hit single “The Sofa.” Remarkably, their acceptance speech revolved around grassroots music venues in the UK, and how important it was to support them. After all, Wolf Alice are one of many successful bands, who’ve learned and honed their skills inside these vital institutions of live music.

Rosalía brought the house down with a epic rendition of “Berghain” feat. Björk, who came out on stage for her part, dressed like a character from Luc Besson’s “The Fifth Element.” Rosalía also took home the International Artist trophy.

And then there’s RAYE, last year’s record-setting BRITs winner, who put her incredible vocal range on display on one of Britain’s grandest stages. Those who didn’t get a ticket for her two recent Co-op Live performances, Feb 17-18, got a glimpse of what they must have missed.

All of the above culminated in a remarkably well-produced show that was beautiful to look at, live as well as on the screen.

UPDATE, March 2, 2026, 8.55 a.m. PST: This article was updated to clarify that it was Brit Row supplying the audio for the BRIT Awards 2026, and that it was a L-Acoustics system, not d&b.

See: BRIT Awards Move To Manchester

Full list of BRIT Awards 2026 winners:

Artist of the year

Olivia Dean
Dave
Fred Again
Jade
Lily Allen
Little Simz
Lola Young
PinkPantheress
Sam Fender
Self Esteem

Group of the year

Wolf Alice
The Last Dinner Party
Pulp
Sleep Token
Wet Leg

Album of the year

Olivia Dean – The Art of Loving
Dave – The Boy Who Played the Harp
Lily Allen – West End Girl
Sam Fender – People Watching
Wolf Alice – The Clearing

Breakthrough artist

Lola Young
Barry Can’t Swim
EsDeeKid
Jim Legxacy
Skye Newman

International artist

Rosalía
Bad Bunny
Chappell Roan
CMAT
Doechii
Lady Gaga
Sabrina Carpenter
Sombr
Taylor Swift
Tyler, the Creator

International group

Geese
Haim
Huntr/x
Tame Impala
Turnstile

Song of the year (voted by the public)

Sam Fender with Olivia Dean – “Rein Me In”
Calvin Harris and Clementine Douglas – “Blessings”
Chrystal and Notion – “The Days (Notion remix)”
Cynthia Erivo ft Ariana Grande – “Defying Gravity”
Ed Sheeran – “Azizam”
Fred Again, Skepta and PlaqueBoyMax – “Victory Lap”
Lewis Capaldi – “Survive”
Lola Young – “Messy”
Myles Smith – “Nice to Meet You”
Olivia Dean – “Man I Need”
Raye – “Where Is My Husband!”
Skye Newman – “Family Matters”

International song of the year (voted by the public)

Rosé and Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
Chappell Roan – “Pink Pony Club”
Disco Lines and Tinashe – “No Broke Boys”
Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song”
Gracie Abrams – “That’s So True’
Huntr/x – “Golden”
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile”
Ravyn Lenae – “Love Me Not”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Sombr – “Undressed”
Taylor Swift – “The Fate of Ophelia”

Alternative/rock act

Sam Fender
Blood Orange
Lola Young
Wet Leg
Wolf Alice

Pop act

Olivia Dean
Jade
Lily Allen
Lola Young
Raye

Hip-hop/grime/rap act

Dave
Central Cee
Jim Legxacy
Little Simz
Loyle Carner

R&B act

Sault
Jim Legxacy
Kwn
Mabel
Sasha Keable

Dance act

Fred Again, Skepta, PlaqueBoyMax
Calvin Harris and Clementine Douglas
FKA twigs
PinkPantheress
Sammy Virji

Critics’ choice

Jacob Alon

Producer of the year

PinkPantheress

Songwriter of the year

Noel Gallagher

Outstanding contribution to music

Mark Ronson

Lifetime achievement

Ozzy Osbourne

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