The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored by Britannia Music Club), but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trusts Show.BRITs Duo On Track To Reach Dizzee-ing Heights in UK Charts British Recorded Music Industry Retrieved 28 April 2011 The awards were first held in 1977 and originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI. In 1989, they were renamed The BRIT Awards."British Pop's Big Party". BBC News. Retrieved 10 December 2012 Mastercard has been the long-term sponsor of the event."MasterCard Renews Sponsorship of The BRIT Awards" . BPI. Retrieved 23 November 2012 In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music, called the Classic BRIT Awards, was held annually between 2000 and 2013, before being revived in 2018 but has not been held since.
The highest profile music awards ceremony in the UK, the BRIT Awards have featured some of the most notable events in British popular culture, such as the final public appearance of Freddie Mercury, the Jarvis Cocker protest against Michael Jackson, the height of a high-profile feud between Oasis and fellow Britpop band Blur, the Union Jack dress worn by Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls, and a Chumbawamba member throwing a bucket of iced water over then-Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. These moments took place in the 1990s when the ceremony had a reputation for being "a little shambolic, unpredictable and, at times, anarchic," since then it has "evolved into a more polished, sanitised affair".
The BRIT Awards were broadcast live until 1989, when Samantha Fox and Mick Fleetwood hosted a widely criticised show in which little went as rehearsed. From 1990 to 2006, the event was recorded and broadcast the following night. From 2007, The BRIT Awards reverted to a live broadcast on British television, on 14 February on ITV. That year, comedian Russell Brand was the host and three awards were dropped from the ceremony: British Rock Act, British Urban Act and British Pop Act."2007 Brits to be broadcast live". BBC. Retrieved 23 November 2012 For the last time, on 16 February 2010, Earls Court in London was the venue for The BRITs. The BRIT Awards were held at the O2 Arena in London for the first time in 2011."The BRIT Awards 2011 with MasterCard unveils new location" . BPI. Retrieved 23 November 2012 In 2026, for the first time in the ceremony's history, it was held outside London at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester.
The BRIT Award statuette given to the winners features Britannia, the female personification of Britain. Since 2011, the statuette has been regularly redesigned by well known British artists, architects, and designers including Vivienne Westwood, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Peter Blake, Zaha Hadid, Anish Kapoor, David Adjaye, Yinka Ilori and Es Devlin, Pam Hogg, Olaolu Slawn, Rachel Jones, and Matthew Williamson.
Robbie Williams holds the record for the most BRIT Award wins, with 13 as a solo artist and another five as part of Take That. Coldplay holds the record for most BRIT Award nominations, with 32 in total. Little Mix made history at the Brit Awards 2021, when they became the first female group to receive the award at the ceremony. In 2024, English singer-songwriter Raye broke the record for the most nominations and most wins received by a single artist in a year, with seven nominations, and six wins respectively.
Ceremonies
The first awards ceremony was in 1977, as "The BRITish Record Industry BRITannia Awards", to mark the Queen's Silver Jubilee and was televised by Thames Television. There has been an annual ceremony since 1982.
Broadcast The 1988 BPI Awards was the first of the ceremonies to be broadcast on live television. The BBC had previously broadcast the ceremony from 1985, with the shows from 1982 to 1984 not broadcast on television. The BBC continued to broadcast the renamed BRIT Awards, live in 1989 and pre-recorded from 1990 to 1992. ITV have broadcast the awards since 1993, pre-recorded until 2006 and live from 2007 onwards. BBC Radio 1 has provided backstage radio coverage since 2008.
Launch show For many years, ITV have aired a launch show in January titled The BRITs Are Coming, which reveals some of the artists who have been nominated at the upcoming ceremony. Previous hosts include Jonathan Ross and Kate Thornton. In 2013 and 2014, it was hosted by Nick Grimshaw, followed by Reggie Yates and Laura Whitmore in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Emma Willis hosted The BRITs Are Coming in 2017 and again in 2018 when it was broadcast live for the first time. Clara Amfo hosted the 2019 launch show and Alice Levine hosted in 2020. Grimshaw hosted the March 2021 edition of The Brits Are Coming with singer Griff. The December 2021 launch show was hosted by Amfo and Maya Jama.
The 2023 edition took place on 11 February 2023 and was held, for the first time, on a weekend. The nominees for 2023 were announced via the BRITs social platforms on 12 January 2023 by Jack Saunders and Vick Hope. The nominees were also revealed by Tom Daley, Yung Filly, Jill Scott, and brothers Joe and George Baggs from Gogglebox across their own social media channels. The launch show returned in January 2024 and was renamed Bring on The BRITs; it was hosted by Yinka Bokinni and live streamed, as part of a new partnership between The BRITs and Meta, via the BRITs account on social platforms Instagram and Facebook. The same format was used in 2025, with that year's launch show hosted by Siân Welby. The 2026 edition was hosted by Sarah Story and Charley Marlowe. Marlowe was also announced to be hosting the red carpet coverage for the main awards ceremony in February 2026 alongside Tyler West.
List of ceremonies BPI Awards Event Date British Album of the Year winner(s) British Single of the Year winner(s) Outstanding Contribution to Music / BRITs Icon winner(s) Host Venue 1977 18 October 1977 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles "Bohemian Rhapsody" – Queen"A Whiter Shade of Pale" – Procol Harum The Beatles Michael Aspel Wembley Conference Centre 1982 4 February 1982 Kings of the Wild Frontier – Adam & the Ants "Tainted Love" – Soft Cell John Lennon David JacobsGrosvenor House Hotel 1983 8 February 1983 Memories – Barbra Streisand "Come on Eileen" – Dexys Midnight Runners The BeatlesTim Rice 1984 21 February 1984 Thriller – Michael Jackson "Karma Chameleon" – Culture Club George Martin 1985 11 February 1985 Diamond Life – Sade "Relax" – Frankie Goes to Hollywood The PoliceNoel Edmonds 1986 10 February 1986 No Jacket Required – Phil Collins "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" – Tears for Fears Elton JohnWham! 1987 9 February 1987 Brothers in Arms – Dire Straits "West End Girls" – Pet Shop Boys Eric Clapton Jonathan King 1988 8 February 1988 ...Nothing Like the Sun – Sting "Never Gonna Give You Up" – Rick Astley The Who Noel Edmonds Royal Albert Hall
BRITs Event Date British Album of the Year winner(s) British Single of the Year winner(s) Outstanding Contribution to Music / BRITs Icon winner(s) Host(s) Venue 1989 13 February 1989 The First of a Million Kisses – Fairground Attraction "Perfect" – Fairground Attraction Cliff Richard Samantha FoxMick Fleetwood Royal Albert Hall 1990 18 February 1990 The Raw and the Cooked – Fine Young Cannibals "Another Day in Paradise" – Phil Collins Queen Cathy McGowanDominion Theatre 1991 10 February 1991 Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 – George Michael "Enjoy the Silence" – Depeche Mode Status QuoSimon Bates 1992 12 February 1992 Seal – Seal "These Are the Days of Our Lives" – Queen Freddie Mercury Hammersmith Odeon 1993 16 February 1993 Diva – Annie Lennox "Could It Be Magic" – Take That Rod Stewart Richard O'BrienAlexandra Palace 1994 14 February 1994 Connected – Stereo MC's "Pray" – Take That Van Morrison Elton JohnRuPaul 1995 20 February 1995 Parklife – Blur "Parklife" – Blur ft. Phil Daniels Elton JohnChris Evans 1996 19 February 1996 (What's the Story) Morning Glory? – Oasis "Back for Good" – Take That David BowieEarls Court 1997 24 February 1997 Everything Must Go – Manic Street Preachers "Wannabe" – Spice Girls Bee GeesBen Elton 1998 9 February 1998 Urban Hymns – The Verve "Never Ever" – All Saints Fleetwood MacLondon Arena 1999 16 February 1999 This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours – Manic Street Preachers "Angels" – Robbie Williams Eurythmics Johnny Vaughan 2000 3 March 2000 The Man Who – Travis "She's the One" – Robbie Williams Spice Girls Davina McCallEarls Court Two 2001 26 February 2001 Parachutes – Coldplay "Rock DJ" – Robbie Williams U2 Ant & Dec 2002 20 February 2002 No Angel – Dido "Don't Stop Movin" – S Club 7 Sting Frank SkinnerZoe Ball 2003 20 February 2003 A Rush of Blood to the Head – Coldplay "Just a Little" – Liberty X Tom Jones Davina McCall 2004 17 February 2004 Permission to Land – The Darkness "White Flag" – Dido Duran Duran Cat Deeley 2005 9 February 2005 Hopes and Fears – Keane "Your Game" – Will Young Bob Geldof Chris Evans 2006 14 February 2006 X&Y – Coldplay "Speed of Sound" – Coldplay Paul Weller Earls Court 2007 14 February 2007 Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not – Arctic Monkeys "Patience" – Take That Oasis Russell Brand 2008 20 February 2008 Favourite Worst Nightmare – Arctic Monkeys "Shine" – Take That Paul McCartney The Osbournes 2009 18 February 2009 Rockferry – Duffy "The Promise" – Girls Aloud Pet Shop Boys Kylie MinogueJames CordenMathew Horne 2010 16 February 2010 Lungs – Florence and the Machine "Beat Again" – JLS Robbie Williams Peter Kay 2011 15 February 2011 Sigh No More – Mumford & Sons "Pass Out" – Tinie Tempah ft. Labrinth James CordenThe O2 Arena 2012 21 February 2012 21 – Adele "What Makes You Beautiful" – One Direction Blur 2013 20 February 2013 Our Version of Events – Emeli Sandé "Skyfall" – Adele 2014 19 February 2014 AM – Arctic Monkeys "Waiting All Night" – Rudimental ft. Ella Eyre Elton John 2015 25 February 2015 X – Ed Sheeran "Uptown Funk" – Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars Ant & Dec 2016 24 February 2016 25 – Adele "Hello" – Adele David Bowie 2017 22 February 2017 Blackstar – David Bowie "Shout Out to My Ex" – Little Mix Robbie Williams Dermot O'LearyEmma Willis 2018 21 February 2018 Gang Signs & Prayer – Stormzy "Human" – Rag'n'Bone Man Jack Whitehall 2019 20 February 2019 A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships – The 1975 "One Kiss" – Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa P!nk 2020 18 February 2020 Psychodrama – Dave "Someone You Loved" – Lewis Capaldi 2021 11 May 2021 Future Nostalgia – Dua Lipa "Watermelon Sugar" – Harry Styles Taylor Swift 2022 8 February 2022 30 – Adele "Easy on Me" – Adele Mo Gilligan 2023 11 February 2023 Harry's House – Harry Styles "As It Was" – Harry Styles 2024 2 March 2024 My 21st Century Blues – Raye "Escapism" – Raye ft. 070 Shake Kylie Minogue Clara AmfoMaya JamaRoman Kemp 2025 1 March 2025 Brat – Charli XCX "Guess" – Charli XCX ft. Billie Eilish Jack Whitehall 2026 28 February 2026The Art of Loving – Olivia Dean"Rein Me In" – Sam Fender & Olivia DeanMark RonsonCo-op Live
Notes
Notable moments
Electricians' strike (1987)