The Brit Awards will take place in Manchester next year, Stacey Chang Chair of the 2026 Brits Committee reveals what we can expect from the 2026 ceremony
Noel and Liam Gallagher collecting one of Oasis’ many awards at the 1996 Brit Awards, February 1996(Image: Mirrorpix)
It was 30 years ago that Oasis won their first Brit award.
In terms of silverware, the Manchester-born outfit has so many accolades to its name that it’s hard to keep track of, but in 1995 they picked up British Breakthrough act – and as they say, the rest is history.
This summer they were catapulted back into the spotlight as Oasis Live ‘25 fired up stadiums across the globe. Around 14 million people were estimated to have tried to get tickets for the 1.4 million tickets for the shows announced at the time across the UK and Ireland.
Someone lucky enough to secure their spot for the final show at Wembley was Stacey Chang, Co-President of RCA Records at Song Music UK, and now, Chair of the 2026 Brits Committee.
“I wasn’t sure about going to the Oasis tour at first, but I went to that last show and it was incredible – I get goosebumps just thinking about it because those songs were seminal to me,” she tells the Manchester Evening News.
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Ahead of the tour, earlier this summer, Manchester received another boost when it was confirmed that next year’s Brit Awards would be held in the city – the first time the ceremony has taken place outside the capital since 1977.
The Brit Awards are coming to Manchester in 2026 and 2027(Image: Brit Awards)
A two year deal, the ceremony will be held at Co-op Live on Saturday, 28 February 2026, and the following year the awards, which will celebrate the Brit Awards 50th anniversary, will also be held at the same venue.
As Mayor Andy Burnham said at the time, it’s a “massive coup” for the area, which in the last three years has witnessed the opening of both Co-op Live and Aviva Studios, hosted the MTV Europe Music Awards, and transformed into a runway courtesy of luxury fashion house Chanel.
And that was all before Oasis confirmed they were reuniting.
Having spearheaded the move to Manchester, Sony Music UK will steer The Brits for the next three years and oversee the move up north.
Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis attend The BRIT Awards 1995, Alexandra Palace, London(Image: Photo by JMEnternational/Getty Images)
Picking up the mantle of Chair, Stacey will take responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the show, including the creative direction, with the support of the Committee which is made up of representatives from the UK major and independent record labels, BRITs TV, and the BPI.
Within this, she and the committee also get to decide who will perform, which brings us onto one of Manchester’s biggest musical exports.
“It would be mad to think about doing the Brits in Manchester and not have something from Oasis,” she beams.
“We have to be reflective of what’s going on in the music industry. If we’re talking about relaying the power of music and what it does to people, that’s hugely important.
Before this tour, brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher had not performed together since 2009(Image: Joshua Halling/Big Brother Recordings)
“We would be absolutely wild not to want them, and we’re in Manchester so why wouldn’t you?”
“But you know, they are masters of their own destiny and will decide that, so we’ll see.
“That said, I don’t think you can reflect on the last year in music and not talk about that band and what they did – the amount of people globally who came together or flew in to see that band.
“If we’re recognising brilliance in British music, how can you have had album sales like they’ve had, the solo careers, the story they’ve built and then the globe coming together around these live shows and say that isn’t something that should be reflected – I think that would be amazing.
(Image: Mirrorpix)
“But I do also think we’re in a position where there are so many people and acts that we could book. And so many brilliant acts from Manchester who are releasing music right now and a huge amount of international acts that are interesting to the Brits, which is brilliant because it means that it’s a date in the diary for them too.”
Manchester has been well represented when it comes to the Brits, just look at the number of awards picked up over the years by artists and bands from across the region. Take That, Elbow, Simply Red and The 1975 have all won big – and that’s just scratching the surface.
Two years ago, Moston-born rapper Aitch was named best hip hop, grime or rap act, and Stacey is very much aware of the significance of such wins for the community, and the evolution of the music industry both here in Manchester and the UK more widely.
“The whole city gets excited about what’s going on. It’s the same with the Mercury Awards in Newcastle the other week, people will say ‘it’s so great to have stuff going on up here’, and we should be well aware that creativity doesn’t happen in one place, it happens where there is opportunity.
Aitch with the award for Hip Hop/Rap/Grime Act during the Brit Awards 2023(Image: PA)
“This is the first time Sony has looked after it, and as custodians for the next three years, at a time when people are questioning creativity from the UK as a whole, it’s important to showcase how you do it, and that involves everybody.
“This year we wanted to do something different, not for the sake of it, but if we’re going to talk about how creative the UK is, and have a global platform, if I see what’s been invested in Manchester or when I see what goes on in the Northern Quarter or music venues like Soup or Warehouse Project, there is a place that we can fit into because there is a culture there.”
Stacey is confident that there will be no easy wins or tokenism though when it comes to celebrating the host city as part of the ceremony in February.
“We’ve been sensible enough to come up here and not centre everything in Manchester. We have got the designer of the award trophies though and they are from Manchester, but going out and speaking to people, they really reiterated to us that yes, Mancunians are proud of the Hacienda, and Salford Lads Club and all the other musical heritage, but that’s not all that they are, we’re not just our past.
The Hacienda main dancefloor, Manchester 1989. (Photo by Peter J Walsh/Peter J Walsh/PYMCA/Avalon/Getty Images)
“There’s been a lot of discussion with people locally and we’re going to do fringe events and activations in conjunction with those who have been doing these things already and finding out how we can elevate what they’ve done instead of replicating.
“I hope we get it right. I’m expecting feedback because if you don’t get that it means nobody is interested.”
In her career, Stacey has successfully spearheaded campaigns for artists such as Cat Burns, Myles Smith, JADE, Tems and Bring Me The Horizon alongside international success with Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, P!NK, SZA, Sleep Token and Future.
Prior to RCA, Stacey was involved in the early careers of Ed Sheeran, Calvin Harris and George Ezra too, and this year she was named on Billboard’s UK Power Players 2025 and was recognised as the fifth most influential woman in music on BBC’s Women in Music list.
Jade Thirlwall emotionally accepts the Best Pop Act award at The BRIT Awards 2025(Image: Max Cisotti/Dave Benett/Getty Im)
“I’ve worked with so many different artists because I love so many different types of music. So the message should just be about inclusivity, it should be about access for all.
“I know Manchester has some of the poorest wards in the country so if we’re going to give access, how does that access continue? Because that might be access to a studio but also questions about legal fees or how to put stuff on YouTube and how to make the best use of time.”
In just 120 days time, Stacey, along with an all-star team will bring the Brits to Manchester for a spectacular night of entertainment – and they’re throwing everything at it.
Multi-Emmy-award winning production designer Misty Buckley will be at the helm of the show once again to deliver another spectacular set design, while double BAFTA-winning entertainment director Phil Heyes, an acclaimed specialist who has directed prime-time TV shows on all major US and UK networks, will apply his creative approach and vision to the 2026 Brit Awards in Manchester.
Charli XCX accepts the award for Song Of the Year on stage during The BRIT Awards 2025(Image: WireImage)
Brits TV Executive Producer Sally Wood will lead the production in its new home for 2026, bringing her inimitable wealth of expertise, with recent credits including An Evening with Elton John and Brandi Carlile for Disney and Dua Lipa at the Royal Albert Hall for ITV and CBS, and Maggie Crowe OBE, BPI’s Director of Events & Charities, will oversee the overall running of the event.
Stacey adds: “The Brits is quite a unique proposition in that it’s an award show but also for TV on one of the biggest terrestrial channels we have, and online, so balancing the different types of audience, different wants is another part we get involved in.
“It’s been a revelation getting to work alongside Sally, Misty, Phil and Maggie. I thought I had a good understanding around the amount of work that went into the show, but I have a new depth of respect and appreciation for the team.
It’s an absolute gift to work with people who not only know the show inside out but know exactly how to make the impossible happen.
Stacey Chang, Co-President of RCA Records at Song Music UK, and now, Chair of the 2026 Brits Committee(Image: Supplied)
“You can only do so many iterations of a creative brief if you’re given the same space. To have a different space at Co-op Live, just means that no-one will be like ‘we did this last time’, so it’s an exciting year because you can’t compare it to any others.
“We’re going to try and push it as far as possible so people can get a really rich experience. Not just the night of the awards as well, but the lead up to it.
“We’ve got two years so it’s about the lasting impact too. It’s about what we can do for the local, creative communities in the UK regardless of where they congregate.”
The Brit Awards 2026 will take place on Saturday, 28 February at Co-op Live Manchester, and will broadcast exclusively on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.