BRIT Awards will host its first ever fringe festival to showcase Manchester's rising stars as nominations date is revealed

The BRIT Awards is hosting its first ever fringe event to showcase the rising talent in Manchester, where this year's awards show will take place for the first time. 

Under the banner 'Manchester Seen and Heard', BRITs Fringe will highlight local voices and connect emerging talent with the wider music industry. 

There will be an exciting programme of events, including Fringe Lab, a one-day creative music industry mixer and live showcase at New Century Hall on Friday February 27.

In the days leading up to the annual award ceremony, Brighter Sound will host events for young musicians aimed at helping them develop a career in the music industry.

BRITs Fringe will also be taken into schools across the city, encouraging institutions to nurture talent at every level. 

The date when this year's crop of nominees will be announced is Wednesday, January 21.

It was revealed in June that the BRIT Awards would be moving away from London for the first time in the ceremony's 46-year history.

For the 2026 ceremony, which will be hosted by Jack Whitehall, the BRITs will take place in the musical and cultural hub of Manchester - and its trophy is getting an upgrade too.

To honour the move, the BRIT trophy will be ditching its opaque design and will instead be made out of transparent amber-coloured resin.

Local designer Matthew Williamson was enlisted to think up the new design for the trophies.

Matthew explained: 'Cast in a chic amber-toned resin, the statue resembles the golden honey of a worker bee, Manchester's logo, symbolising the city's role during the Industrial Revolution and so much more.'

The designer joins an exclusive pantheon of creatives in designing the trophy, including last year’s designer, Gabriel Moses, as well as Dame Vivienne Westwood, Tracey Emin and Yinka Ilori.

The Daily Mail revealed the annual showpiece, regarded as the biggest night in British music, will be held in Manchester next year and is likely to move around the UK in different locations for the foreseeable future.

The change will be framed around the desire to reach new audiences in other regions, while also banishing its 'London-centric' reputation.

The BRITs, which has provided iconic moments in music history including Spice Girl Geri Horner's Union Jack dress and Madonna's infamous 2015 stage fall, has been held at London's O2 Arena since 2011.

Past venues include Earl's Court, the London Arena, Alexandra Palace, Hammersmith Apollo, the Dominion Theatre, the Royal Albert Hall, the Grosvenor Hotel and its original location, Wembley Conference Centre.

But the move away from the capital signals another new era in the ceremony's history, arguably the most seismic.

A source told the Daily Mail: 'The BRITs is the biggest night in the British music calendar and now it will be shared with a new audience, as fans from Manchester and the surrounding areas are more likely to attend.

'In recent years, there has been a general appetite for the ceremony to move, as with the The Mercury Prize and The MOBO Awards and now for the first time the music scene won't be as London-centric, both for the nominees and fans.'