Newcastle has been hailed as the new “spiritual home” of the Mercury Prize, with city bosses signalling their intent to keep the prestigious ceremony on Tyneside. For the second year running, the Utilita Arena played host to the Mercury Prize on Thursday night.
RAYE picked up the coveted prize this year for her album This Music May Contain Hope, following on from local star Sam Fender’s victory in 2025. And while that meant that local acts JADE and Knats could not make it two North East wins in a row, it was nonetheless another huge celebration and a major showcase for the city.
Ambition to host major events regularly
With Newcastle also having hosted the MOBO Awards in 2025, there are ambitions to keep the momentum going and make some of the biggest nights in the UK cultural calendar a regular feature in the Toon. Newcastle City Council leader Colin Ferguson said on Friday: “We have big ambitions to make Newcastle the UK’s most successful regional capital and hosting huge events like the Mercury Prize is part of that.
“Some of the biggest stars in music were in the city this week and we put on a show in front of an international audience. We once again showed the world that Newcastle knows how to host a party, not that anyone needed reminding. The Prize itself is one aspect of a wider fringe programme that provides opportunities to local artists, young people and grassroots venues. Together with Generator we have been clear we want these events to leave a lasting legacy.”
Economic impact and future plans
It's also the catalyst for our wider ambitions for the culture and creative sector to be an engine room of economic development in the city, just as our Council Plan set out. The country is seeing Newcastle as a music city, and the ambition and opportunity that is creating is already showing.
“Newcastle has hosted this event two years running and already I think it has found its spiritual home on Tyneside. It will be for the organisers to make an announcement on where it is hosted in future but we want the biggest and best events right here in our city.”
The local authority said that it had now “proved that Newcastle can deliver events of national significance, attract the biggest names in music and give artists, audiences and our communities an experience to remember”. An item listed on the council’s website for an upcoming spending decision in November also confirms an ambition to host a “major national music event” in 2027.
Civic Centre officials previously said that the 2025 Mercury Prize had boosted the region’s economy by more than £1.4 million, as well as delivering fringe programme events that involved more than 8,000 people.
