The glistening trophy for the ceremony will be unveiled by the BRIT Awards next year. This will also mark the first time the awards have been held outside of London.
The prestigious trophy from the 2026 ceremony has finally been revealed thanks to the BRIT Awards. Manchester is a sweet nod to the designer, who is “proud” to honor his hometown in the 2026 trophy.
The ceremony will take place in Manchester next year, marking the first time the city has departed from London since its founding in 1977, when it was known as The British Record Industry Britannia Awards. Matthew Williamson, a native of Manchester, designed the trophy this year.
Williamson has expressed his pride in creating the award for the ceremony set to take place in his hometown of Manchester. Drawing inspiration from his Manchester roots and the city’s worker bee mascot, the trophy features an amber figure atop a globe, symbolising the global influence of British music.
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Williamson, who was given the honor of designing the award, said: “It means a lot, personally, it means a lot, and professionally, it means a lot.” He continued, “I feel very proud to be in this position and I think it’s a really significant project because I’m carrying a lot of a heavy torch, so to speak, but I’m very proud.”
The Manchester-born designer added that his city’s affinity for him is further expressed in an additional way, saying, “Personally, I’m from Manchester, I love everything about the city, so it has an extra resonance because it’s going to be here, it’s a real milestone moment.”
Williamson, who was born in Chicago and specializes in fashion, home, and lifestyle design, recalls a time when he and his family attended the awards ceremony every year. The designer, 54, said, “I remember watching it and feeling like I probably shouldn’t be watching it, so I was pretty young.”
I don’t know, but I remember it being a little bit spicy at times because my parents were quite liberal when they raised me, but it was a little past the watershed and all that. I don’t recall being a teenager watching it until much earlier, perhaps.
It was many moons ago, but I still watch it now and will be doing it with my daughter the following year, which is a complete circle. Williamson revealed he was careful to follow the award’s original formula while maintaining its fresh iteration after witnessing one of his catwalk creations featured in the music video for Prince’s 2007 track Chelsea Rodgers.
He continued: “There was a certain understanding that this is the trophy, we want to keep the silhouette, the structure, so they don’t want us to turn it into a different form, because then it wouldn’t be a Brit Award. I think that was central to the project, respect what’s there, and be like the Oscars, you kind of want to see that mask, you don’t really want to see something else.”
The BRITs’ move to Manchester has inspired us to consider how we do things in such a brilliant and unique way, according to Stacey Tang, chair of the 2026 BRIT Awards Committee and co-president of RCA Records at Sony Music U.K. I’m delighted that Matthew accepted the invitation to design the award for the show’s upcoming year.
He “has a unique perspective on the design process, creating a straightforward, sophisticated, and striking concept that embodies the spirit and values of the city and serves as a visual statement for the show,” supporting our goal to bring British music to the global stage. We couldn’t be happier for what Matthew has produced and for having him play a crucial role in BRITs history.
Glyn Aikins, co-president of RCA Records at Sony Music UK, stated, “I’m thrilled to welcome Matthew Williamson as the designer of the 2026 BRIT Award trophy. For more than 20 years, Matthew’s bold, expressive style has been the defining feature of British fashion, and his pieces have always been at the intersection of art, style, and cultural imagination.
The iconic worker bee, a powerful representation of Manchester’s resilience, community, and creative spirit, is what inspired his vision for this year’s trophy. The end result perfectly captures the energy of contemporary British music, giving the BRITs a new sense of color, optimism, and individuality. I’m beyond excited to show his artwork to artists, fans, and the rest of the creative industry.
The prestigious gong has previously been crafted by luminaries including Dame Vivienne Westwood, Sir Peter Blake and Dame Tracey Emin.
The BRIT Awards will take place on Saturday, February 28, at Manchester’s Co-op Live.
Source: Mirror
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