Manchester Embraces Historic Brit Awards with Palpable Kinetic Energy
Visitors to Manchester this week have been delightfully surprised to arrive at Olivia Deansgate station, with many snapping selfies in front of the temporary sign honoring chart-topping musician Olivia Dean. This playful tribute is just one vivid example of how Manchester is wholeheartedly embracing the arrival of the Brit awards this Saturday, marking the event's first venture outside London in its impressive five-decade history.
Recognizing Geographical Diversity in Music
Stacey Tang, the Brit awards chair, emphasized that the move to Manchester's Co-op Live arena is fundamentally about acknowledging the geographical diversity of the country's music talent. "Creativity doesn't happen in one postcode in the UK ... so the idea that the biggest night in music should always be in London, I think, is ageing out," she stated unequivocally. Tang noted that the approach from the local authority and from Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has been "really different" to her experiences in London, praising how they've "just really opened up the city."
The awards organizers have been running an extensive fringe event in Manchester, featuring collaborations with grassroots artists alongside intimate shows by pop stars including Olivia Dean – nominated in five categories – and Robbie Williams, all in aid of the charity War Child. Tang, who also serves as co-president of RCA Records, part of Sony, observed that Manchester possesses a creative positivity that isn't always evident in London. "The investment that's being made in Manchester, the kinetic energy around the city is really palpable," she described. "There's always something that you can go to, meet other people who are like-minded, but also feel like 'oh, wow, I belong in this city', regardless of whether you live there or not."
Northern Cities Leading Music Recognition
The Manchester Brits ceremony follows the trail blazed by the Mobo awards, which have been held in several northern cities and will celebrate their 30th anniversary in Manchester at the end of March. Additionally, the MTV European music awards were hosted at Co-op Live in 2024, the same year the Northern music awards launched in Manchester. Jo Twist, the chief executive of the BPI, the record industry's trade association, highlighted that their research consistently shows Manchester as the UK's top location for producing chart-topping artists.
"Perhaps there has been a bit of a recent shift where the industry has recognised it should do more in actively finding talent and being there on its doorstep, supporting the ecosystem in meaningful ways," Twist explained. "Global success stories do not just happen and artists don't become global successes overnight either – they can take years of label support." This realization partly motivated the BPI's decision to move the Mercury prize to Newcastle last year, after the Leeds band English Teacher finally broke a decade-long streak of London winners in 2024. The 2025 prize went to Sam Fender, born and raised in North Shields, who celebrated triumphantly in his home city.
Nurturing Northern Talent and Opportunity
Scott Lewis, the label manager at EMI North based in Leeds, spent the week conducting workshops with up-and-coming artists, offering advice on approaching labels and providing feedback on their demos. He stressed the importance of holding large music events in the north, affirming, "I do believe in the adage 'if you can see it, you can be it'." His role, established in 2023 at what was the first major label office outside London, addresses the challenge northern musicians often face in gaining recognition. "It's a case of talent being everywhere but opportunity not necessarily being everywhere," Lewis pointed out.
Significant progress is underway. Alongside organizations like Brighter Sound in Manchester, Generator in Newcastle, and Launchpad in Leeds, which quietly nurture fresh talent, the new Brit school is set to open in Bradford in 2028. Bradford, a young, energetic northern city with a rich cultural heritage and a vibrant grassroots arts scene, provides an ideal foundation. Lewis praised the "real integrity and humour" of northern artists such as Lily Fontaine from English Teacher, Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner, John Cooper Clarke, Jarvis Cocker, and Self Esteem.
"Northern artists, to me, are storytellers," Lewis reflected. "I think it's a bit of a northern trait to be a storyteller. I think you can pop down a coffee shop, or a pub, and end up sitting next to somebody, you'll end up chatting, and they'll tell you one of the best stories you've heard in your life. And you may never speak to them again but you take that with you. There's a real beauty to that." This historic Brit awards in Manchester not only celebrates music but also amplifies the authentic voices and stories from across the north of England.
