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. In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music, called the Classic BRIT Awards, is held in May. 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. Mastercard has been the long-term sponsor of the event.
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” with a criticism it has lost its edge since then and “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. For the last time, on 16 February 2010, the venue for The BRITs was the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London. The BRIT Awards were held at The O2 Arena in London for the first time in 2011.
The BRIT Award statuette given to the winners features Britannia, the female personification of Britain. Since 2011, the statuette has been regularly redesigned by some of the best known British designers, stylists and artists, including Vivienne Westwood, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Peter Blake, Zaha Hadid, Anish Kapoor and David Adjaye. In 1992, KLF opened the show and invited extreme metal band Extreme Noise Terror on stage, complete with flame-throwers, and fired machine gun blanks over the crowd. The group sent a dead sheep to the aftershow party, and later buried their BRIT Award statuette at Stonehenge signifying their abhorrence of the music industry. Robbie Williams holds the record for the most BRIT Awards, 13 as a solo artist and another five as part of Take That. Girl group Little Mix made history at the 2021 Brit Awards, when they became the first female group in 2021 to receive the award for Best Group at the ceremony after 43 years since it was first introduced. In 2024, English singer-songwriter Raye, broke the record for the most nominations received by a single artist in a year with seven in total.
Ceremonies[]
| Edition | Date | Venue | Host(s) | Broadcaster | British Album of the Year winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BPI Awards | |||||
| 1st | October 18, 1977 | Wembley Conference Centre, London, England | Michael Aspel | Thames Television | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles |
| No awards held from 1978 to 1981 | |||||
| 2nd | February 4, 1982 | Grosvenor House Hotel, London, England | David Jacobs | N/A | Kings of the Wild Frontier by Adam & the Ants |
| 3rd | February 8, 1983 | Tim Rice | Memories by Barbra Streisand | ||
| 4th | February 21, 1984 | Thriller by Michael Jackson | |||
| 5th | February 11, 1985 | Noel Edmonds | BBC1 | Diamond Life by Sade | |
| 6th | February 10, 1986 | No Jacket Required by Phil Collins | |||
| 7th | February 9, 1987 | Jonathan King | Brother in Arms by Dire Straits | ||
| 8th | February 8, 1988 | Royal Albert Hall, London, England | Noel Edmonds | ...Nothing Like the Sun by Sting | |
| BRIT Awards | |||||
| 9th | February 13, 1989 | Royal Albert Hall, London, England | Samantha Fox and Mick Fleetwood | BBC1 | The First of a Million Kisses by Fairground Attraction |
| 10th | February 18, 1990 | Dominion Theatre, London, England | Cathy McGowan | The Raw and the Cooked by Fine Young Cannibals | |
| 11th | February 10, 1991 | Simon Bates | Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 by George Michael | ||
| 12th | February 12, 1992 | Hammersmith Odeon, London, England | Seal by Seal | ||
| 13th | February 16, 1993 | Alexandra Palace, London, England | Richard O'Brien | ITV | Diva by Annie Lennox |
| 14th | February 14, 1994 | Elton John and RuPaul | Connected by Stereo MC's | ||
| 15th | February 20, 1995 | Chris Evans | Parklife by Blur | ||
| 16th | February 19, 1996 | Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, England | (What's the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis | ||
| 17th | February 24, 1997 | Ben Elton | Everything Must Go by Manic Street Preachers | ||
| 18th | February 9, 1998 | London Arena, London, England | Urban Hymns by The Verve | ||
| 19th | February 16, 1999 | Johnny Vaughan | This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours by Manic Street Preachers | ||
| 20th | March 3, 2000 | Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, England | Davina McCall | The Man Who by Travis | |
| 21st | February 26, 2001 | Ant & Dec | Parachutes by Coldplay | ||
| 22nd | February 20, 2002 | Frank Skinner and Zoe Ball | No Angel by Dido | ||
| 23rd | February 20, 2003 | Davina McCall | A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay | ||
| 24th | February 17, 2004 | Cat Deeley | Permission to Land by The Darkness | ||
| 25th | February 9, 2005 | Chris Evans | Hopes and Fears by Keane | ||
| 26th | February 14, 2006 | X&Y by Coldplay | |||
| 27th | February 15, 2007 | Russell Brand | Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys | ||
| 28th | February 9, 2008 | Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne and Jack Osbourne | Favourite Worst Nightmare by Arctic Monkeys | ||
| 29th | February 18, 2009 | Kylie Minogue, James Corden and Mathew Horne | Rockferry by Duffy | ||
| 30th | February 16, 2010 | Peter Kay | Lungs by Florence and the Machine | ||
| 31st | February 15, 2011 | The O2 Arena, London, England | James Corden | Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons | |
| 32nd | February 21, 2012 | 21 by Adele | |||
| 33rd | February 20, 2013 | Our Version of Events by Emeli Sandé | |||
| 34th | February 19, 2014 | ITV YouTube |
AM by Arctic Monkeys | ||
| 35th | February 25, 2015 | Ant & Dec | X by Ed Sheeran | ||
| 36th | February 24, 2016 | 25 by Adele | |||
| 37th | February 22, 2017 | Dermot O'Leary and Emma Willis | ITV ITV2 (Red carpet) YouTube |
Blackstar by David Bowie | |
| 38th | February 21, 2018 | Jack Whitehall | Gang Signs & Prayer by Stormzy | ||
| 39th | February 20, 2019 | A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships by The 1975 | |||
| 40th | February 18, 2020 | Psychodrama by Dave | |||
| 41st | May 11, 2021 | Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa | |||
| 42nd | February 8, 2022 | Mo Gilligan | 30 by Adele | ||
| 43rd | February 11, 2023 | ITV ITV2 (Red carpet) ITVX YouTube |
Harry's House by Harry Styles | ||
| 44th | March 2, 2024 | Clara Amfo, Maya Jama and Roman Kemp | My 21st Century Blues by Raye | ||
| 45th | March 1, 2025 | Jack Whitehall | Brat by Charli XCX | ||
Awards[]
| Award category | Years active | Inaugural winner | Current winner (2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Album of the Year | 1977-present | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles | Brat by Charli XCX |
| Song of the Year | 1977-present | "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum |
"Guess" by Charli XCX featuring Billie Eilish |
| British Artist of the Year | 2022-present | Adele | Charli XCX |
| British Group | 1977-present | The Beatles | Ezra Collective |
| Best Pop Act | 2000-present | Five | JADE |
| Best R&B Act | 2024-present | Raye | |
| Best Dance Act | 1994-present | M People | Charli XCX |
| Best Rock/Alternative Act | 2004-present | The Darkness | Sam Fender |
| Best Hip-Hop/Grime/Rap Act | 2003-present | Ms. Dynamite | Stormzy |
| Best New Artist | 1977-present | Graham Parker Julie Covington |
The Last Dinner Party |
| International Artist of the Year | 1983-present | Kid Creole and the Coconuts | Chappell Roan |
| International Group of the Year | 1986-present | Huey Lewis and the News | Fontaines D.C. |
| Best International Song | 2022-present | "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo | "Good Luck, Babe!" by Chappell Roan |
| Rising Star | 2008-present | Adele | Myles Smith |
| Songwriter of the Year | 2022-present | Ed Sheeran | Charli XCX |
| Producer of the Year | 1977-present | George Martin | A.G. Cook |
| Global Success Award | 2013-present | One Direction | Sabrina Carpenter |