The 2026 Mercury Prize has announced that this month’s sold-out awards show will be hosted by Lauren Laverne.
It has also been confirmed that the ceremony will be broadcast on BBC Four and BBC Radio 6 Music. A host of further Fringe activity and partner initiatives are taking place across Newcastle throughout Mercury Prize week.
The Mercury Prize will take place at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena on Thursday, October 22, featuring live performances from album of the year finalists Dove Ellis, Florence + The Machine, Jade, Knats, Kojey Radical, Nia Archives, Olivia Dean, Raye and Suede, as well as Pulp performing on behalf of the Help(2) album.
The full list of nominated Mercury Prize artists is here.
BBC Radio 6 Music presenter and North East native Lauren Laverne has hosted several of the Mercury Prize ceremonies over the years.
Broadcast partner BBC Music will provide coverage of the Mercury awards show. It will be broadcast on BBC Four from 9.30 pm, while 6 Music’s Deb Grant and Nathan Shepherd will broadcast from Newcastle from 7pm. The programmes will be available on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds after broadcast.
The 2026 Mercury Prize Fringe, programmed by Generator, will bring a host of activity to Newcastle throughout the week, with partners and organisations across the city coming together to celebrate this year’s shortlisted artists and the wider music community.
Additional highlights include the LNER Mini Mercury Choir, made up of school children from around the North East, who will perform two special tracks at Newcastle Central Station, alongside a programme of live performances, listening parties, screenings, workshops, talks and one-off events taking place across the city.
The Mercury Prize recognises the best new British & Irish music, celebrating artistic achievement across an eclectic range of contemporary music genres. As an independent arts prize, it champions the album format, acts as a snapshot of the year in music and often provides a major platform for up-and-coming artists and their musical work.
Sam Fender won the 2025 Mercury Prize. Other recent past winners include English Teacher, Ezra Collective, Little Simz, Dave, Wolf Alice, Young Fathers, and more.
PHOTO: Euan Cherry Getty
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