Olivia Dean dominated the 2026 Brit Awards, winning Artist of the Year and Album of the Year at a ceremony held for the first time outside London, at Manchester's Co-Op Live arena. The soulful pop star, who also won a Grammy for Best New Artist in January, thanked her team and band in her acceptance speech.
The night was marked by frequent censorship, including a joke about Peter Mandelson following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. Additionally, Cameron Winter of the band Geese was censored when he shouted 'Free Palestine' while accepting the award for Best International Group.
Host Jack Whitehall drew criticism for jokes about Manchester, including references to drug use and a dig at a man's suit, which some viewers deemed classist. He also mocked Alex Warren as 'Ed Sheeran if you ordered him on Temu' and Mark Ronson as 'Nick Grimshaw if he learnt to use GarageBand'.
Harry Styles opened the show with a performance of his No 1 single 'Aperture', receiving a standing ovation. The track is from his upcoming album 'Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.', due for release on 6 March. Other winners included Wolf Alice for Group of the Year and Noel Gallagher for Songwriter of the Year.
