The Youth Music Awards have announced that they will be moving to Liverpool for the 2026 edition.<\/p>\n
The annual event is the UK\u2019s biggest grassroots music awards and celebrates the next generation of music talent, as well as working to shape a more diverse and inclusive future for British artists.<\/p>\n
For the past six years, the ceremony has been held in London, however the 2026 instalment will now be taking place in Liverpool for the first time.<\/p>\n
The move comes as recent statistics show that 86 per cent of Youth Music funding organisations are based outside of the capital, and there is a strong need to provide more support for emerging artists and grassroots venues across the country.<\/p>\n
The shift to the North West also comes as there are 33,500 young people currently on waiting lists for Youth Music programmes \u2013 with the figure in the North being 20 per cent higher than that of the South \u2013 and amid concerns that one third of projects funded by Youth Music are contemplating closing due to financial pressure.<\/p>\n
The move follows a growing number of music awards to move outside of London in recent years. In 2009, the MOBOs mixed things up by venturing out of the capital for the first time, being held in Glasgow<\/a> then and in 2011, before heading to Leeds<\/a>, Sheffield<\/a>, Newcastle<\/a> and Manchester. <\/a><\/p>\n The BRIT Awards held their 2026 ceremony outside of London for the first time in nearly five decades<\/a>. It was hosted at the Co-Op Live in Manchester this February, and will be returning there next year too<\/a>. The Mercury Prize<\/a> meanwhile, took place in Newcastle last year \u2013 the first time in its history that it was held outside of London<\/a>. It will be returning to Newcastle later this year as well<\/a>.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s instalment of the Youth Music Awards takes place on October 28 and will see more than 60 judges from across music, media and technology help select the winners.<\/p>\n Artist judges include Myles Smith<\/a>, BICEP<\/a>, Snoochie Shy, ALT BLK ERA<\/a>, Emily Makis and lockdownT, and other judges represent organisations including Apple, Meta, Sony Music, Spotify, Universal Music Group and YouTube.<\/p>\n The move to Liverpool has opened up 21 new job roles to help get young people get more hands-on, paid experience.<\/p>\n \u201cAs someone whose journey started in grassroots music, I know how important it is to have people who believe in you and opportunities that help you take the next step, which is why I\u2019m proud to be a judge for the Youth Music Awards 2026,\u201d said singer-songwriter Myles Smith. \u201cAccess to music shouldn\u2019t depend on where you\u2019re from, who you know or what you can afford. I\u2019m excited to see the awards head to Liverpool this year \u2013 a reminder that talent exists everywhere. I can\u2019t wait to see this year\u2019s nominations.\u201d<\/p>\n Carol Reid, Interim Co-CEO at Youth Music also said that the move to Liverpool comes as the awards continue to celebrate \u201cyoung people and projects, fighting every day to ensure music remains open to everyone, regardless of their background or postcode.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt a time when grassroots music projects across the country face significant challenges, it\u2019s more important than ever to recognise the talent, creativity and determination that exists in grassroots communities across the UK,\u201d Reid added.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re delighted to bring the Awards to Liverpool this year and celebrate the people helping to shape a music industry that is more diverse, inclusive and representative.\u201d<\/p>\n The awards are open to Youth Music NextGen Fund recipients, or to any artist who has taken part in a Youth Music funded project since January 2021. Nominees for all 11 categories will be announced later this year.<\/p>\n Sponsorship packages are still available and you can visit here<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n In other Youth Music news, earlier this year it was confirmed that Sam Fender <\/a>had raised \u00a350,000 from ticket sales on his \u2018People Watching\u2019 tour for the organisation<\/a>.<\/p>\n