Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has revealed he’s waited ‘all his life’ to see Manchester host events including the BRIT Awards, which will be held at Co-op Live next monthDaniel Bird Assistant Celebrity and Entertainment Editor
18:29, 22 Jan 2026
Andy Burnham admits hosting the BRIT Awards in Manchester is a step in the right direction(Image: Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
Andy Burnham admits waiting “all his life” to see Manchester host some of the biggest events. Next month, for the first time in its history, the BRIT Awards will move out of London and will instead be hosted at the Co-op Live.
For years, Manchester has been at the forefront of producing some of the biggest names in music, including the likes of Oasis, The Stone Roses, Blossoms, Sarah Harding, The Verve, Happy Mondays, Courteeners, Joy Division and many more, with acts such as Harry Styles and The 1975 starting their careers just down the road.
But for years, the city has been overlooked when it comes to honouring talent across the globe, despite the biggest names in music often playing at the AO Arena, Co-op Live, Etihad Stadium and other venues. Now, this is all set to change, with the BRITs choosing Manchester for the next two years.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham explained that the city is ‘thriving’ thanks to its music heritage(Image: PA)
“I’ve waited all of my life to see Manchester starting to host all of these things,” Andy, Mayor of Greater Manchester, told the Mirror. Speaking at the BRITs Nominations reveal, held at Co-op Live, Andy continued: “It’s a massive sign that the city is thriving, booming – the most vibrant city in the UK.
“In my time, growing up, it was the complete opposite. We’ve come through all these decades, and now look at us. It’s an emotional moment, Manchester has been on a long road back, and I believe music started that change journey – here we are, it’s a great thing to see.”
Last year, Manchester hosted Oasis on their mammoth Oasis Live ’25 Tour, which saw the band play five sold-out shows at Heaton Park, something that council bosses were overjoyed by. But it wasn’t just Oasis who drew in crowds; over one million people flocked to Manchester for live music events.
Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig revealed how the council are ploughing cash into supporting grassroots music venues (Image: Anthony Moss | Manchester Evening News)
“I would say what we witnessed over the summer was incredible,” Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said. She added: “340,000 people came to see Oasis, but over that summer alone, 1.2 million people came to Manchester to watch live music.
“I think for me, having the BRITs in Manchester is about past, present and future. So we celebrate our past, we know the musicians have done so well, and people still celebrate them now. I think what this does is show the spotlight on the talent that’s here today, the city that’s here today.
“But it also gives us a legacy for the future as well. Manchester never dines out on its history, the reason we’re so successful is we talk about what we want to achieve in the future, and I think the BRITs is a great way to be able to showcase it.” Discussing the build of Co-op Live, the biggest indoor live music event space in Europe, Bev commented: “People told us a city outside of London couldn’t cope with two arenas.
For the first time ever, the BRIT Awards will be held at Manchester’s Co-op Live next month(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
“‘You would never get people to come, you would never get the artists’, since Co-op Live opened, both AO Arena and Co-op Live have been doing incredibly well, and that shows that the size of the city means that we can cope and there is interest. We’re getting world-class artists.”
Andy went on to add: “If you look at what goes on here, every night of the week, there’s stuff happening on the music scene, seven days a week, we have the infrastructure that goes from the smallest venues to the best in the country, like this [Co-op Live], there’s no in between.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that Beth and I consider this critical infrastructure in the city. This is a music city to its fingertips. People here are knowledgeable about music, they love music, and in many ways it creates the heartbeat of the whole place, and it is why both of us prioritise protecting our venues, supporting our artists, and obviously the BRITs, as Bev said, it just brings all of that to the fore. So we don’t see this as peripheral in any way; it’s actually fully mainstream. Music is mainstream within the city.”
Manchester has vowed to protect its music venues, with the Music Venues Trust supporting grassroots venues across the city. Bev explained: “Funding for grassroots venues, to be able to bid into those that are struggling. We did that off the back of the profit, the money that came into the city from Oasis and from the business rates of Co-op Live, to show we’re taking money from the big guys, putting it into core venues and helping generate future talent, it’s not just words, we’re putting money into it as well.”
This year, the next generation of artists is leading the way at the BRITs, with Lola Young and Olivia Dean both being nominated for five awards. Meanwhile, northern legend Sam Fender has bagged himself four nominations. Fred again.., Jim Legxacy, Wolf Alice, Dave and Lily Allen have bagged three nominations.
While the likes of Bruno Mars, Chappell Roan, Jade, Calvin Harris, Taylor Swift, Wet Leg, Raye and Sabrina Carpenter are also nominated for an award.
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