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2026 Mercury Prize Ceremony Takes Place in Newcastle
The 2026 Mercury Prize ceremony takes place at Utilita Arena in Newcastle on Thursday with Olivia Dean as the betting favourite.
The 2026 Mercury Prize award ceremony will take place at Utilita Arena on Thursday. The event is being held in Newcastle for the second consecutive time. In 2025, the ceremony moved outside of London for the first time in its history when Sam Fender won. Fender donated his 25,000 pounds prize money to Music Venue Trust.
Ten artists from the twelve-album shortlist will perform live on the night of the ceremony. Short films will be screened to celebrate the nominated albums of Dave and Paul McCartney. According to betting odds from William Hill, Olivia Dean is the favourite at 3/1 with the album The Art Of Loving. Nia Archives is in second place behind Dean with 4/1 odds for Emotional Junglist, while Raye has 9/2 odds for her second album, This Music May Contain Hope.
As of October 20, 2026, the song Man I Need by Olivia Dean is number 5 on the Apple Music UK songs chart. On the same date, the song Rein Me In by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean is number 6 on the Apple Music UK songs chart.
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