Birmingham to host BBC Music Awards 2015 on Thursday 10 December

The BBC today announced Ellie Goulding, Hozier, Jess Glynne, Little Mix, Mumford & Sons, OMI and One Direction are set to perform at the BBC Music Awards 2015, taking place at The Genting Arena, Birmingham on Thursday 10 December.

Published: 22 October 2015
  • BBC music awards 2015, Thursday 10 december
  • Venue confirmed as The Genting Arena, Birmingham
  • Supported by Birmingham City Council
  • Ellie Goulding, Hozier, Jess Glynne, Little Mix, Mumford & Sons, OMI and One Direction are first artists confirmed to perform
  • Event to be broadcast on BBC One, Radio 1 & Radio 2 and at bbc.co.uk/music
  • Hosted by Chris Evans and Fearne Cotton
  • Tickets on sale at bbc.co.uk/musicawards

The BBC today announced Ellie Goulding, Hozier, Jess Glynne, Little Mix, Mumford & Sons, OMI and One Direction are set to perform at the BBC Music Awards 2015, taking place at The Genting Arena, Birmingham on Thursday 10 December. Further acts will be announced over the coming weeks.

Jess Glynne says: “I’m really excited to be at this year’s BBC Music Awards. I was there last year at the inaugural awards performing with Clean Bandit and it was a great night with a brilliant performance from Ed Sheeran among my personal favourites. To be back this year in my own right is amazing. I'm looking forward to it - roll on December."

During this morning’s BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 Breakfast Shows, presenters Nick Grimshaw and Chris Evans (pictured) joined forces on-air to reveal the first seven artists confirmed to perform at the annual event – a celebration of an amazing year in music with spectacular performances and surprising collaborations from some of the biggest names in the business and hot new talent alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra.

OMI says: "I'm extremely excited as usual. I love being in the UK and feeling the British energy. I can't wait to perform for my fans.”

Hosted by Chris Evans and Fearne Cotton, the live event will take place from 4 to 6pm and will be broadcast the same evening on BBC One, Radio 1, Radio 2 and bbc.co.uk/music. There will also be coverage of the Red Carpet arrivals, back stage gossip and exclusive interviews and sessions.

Chris Evans says: “They’re back! We had such a blast last year so I can’t wait to get back on stage and relive this amazing musical year of 2015. The BBC Music Awards is the best night of the year and 2015 will be no exception as we celebrate the absolutely brilliant talent out there making the music that inspires us every single day.”

Fearne Cotton says: “What a line-up! Seven top acts announced already and more to come. This year’s awards are already bursting at the seams with performances from some of the world’s greatest music acts, so I’m delighted to be heading to Birmingham to present the show.”

Supported by Birmingham City Council, the BBC Music Awards will feature five awards: British Artist of the Year and International Artist of the Year as decided by the BBC Music panel, Song of the Year voted for by members of the public, and a special award for a BBC Introducing artist. This year there will be a new award - Live Performance of the Year – which will be given to the band or artist who has delivered THE stand out BBC Music live moment of 2015, also voted by the BBC Music panel.

Bob Shennan, Controller Radio 2, 6 Music, Asian Network and Director BBC Music, says: “The BBC Music Awards recognise the outstanding stories in popular music from across the year, highlighting and honouring some extraordinary performers. Together they have created some of the most talked about musical moments of the year – from 1D’s imminent break to Jess Glynne’s fifth number one – the event gives our audiences the chance to reflect and enjoy them all.”

Andrew Hozier-Byrne – aka Hozier – adds: "I’m very excited to be playing at the BBC Music Awards this year alongside such a fantastic line up of artists. See you then."

During the week preceding the awards, the BBC Music team will be running outreach events across the city, encouraging and inspiring new or aspiring artists in conjunction with local partners and venues. The sessions will focus on sharing expertise and advice about working in the music industry. During the day, there will be a series of seminars and workshops looking at issues such as 'How To Make Money In The Music Industry', 'Women in Music' and 'The Art of Songwriting'. Each evening there will be a BBC Introducing Showcase featuring up-and-coming bands, acts and performers from across the city.

Director of BBC Birmingham, Joe Godwin, adds: "Birmingham's got an incredibly rich musical heritage and vibrant music scene, so it’s really exciting that the city will host the BBC Music Awards this year. We’ve worked hard with many of our partners in the city to bring the event to Birmingham and we’re looking forward to celebrating a great year in music with audiences across the Midlands."

Birmingham City Council’s Deputy Leader, Ian Ward, says: "It is great news that the BBC has decided to hold the Music Awards at the Genting Arena, but not surprising. We are continuing to work with a host of organisations to bring high-profile events to Birmingham and the wider region and this is another success. I hope everyone has a great time on the night."

Tickets are now on sale, and are priced from £39 to £53 (plus booking fee). Visit bbc.co.uk/musicawards for full details.

The BBC Music Awards will broadcast on BBC One in primetime on Thursday 10 December.

BBC Music is the corporation’s strongest commitment to music in 30 years - comprising an ambitious wave of new programmes, innovative partnerships and ground-breaking music initiatives. More music on television includes regular performances on The One Show. Recent programmes include 6 Music Live from Maida Vale featuring Bloc Party, Leftfield, The Staves, Mercury Rev and New Order, which were streamed live and are still available to view on Red Button and via BBC iPlayer; Later with Jools Holland on BBC Two; and the three-part series Music for Misfits – The Story of Indie Music on BBC Four. Friday 23 October sees the broadcast of one-off specials Psychedelic Britannia and Totally 60s Psychedelic Rock at the BBC on BBC Four, and a new concert from Elton John and his band at Cornwall’s Eden Project - Elton Live at Eden – will be made available exclusively on BBC iPlayer from that date. In September, The BBC's Radio Theatre opened its doors for Sam Smith In Concert, a special show for BBC Radio 2 which gets a BBC One airing on 26 October. Two forthcoming programmes include a new documentary on 10cc for BBC Four and new film for BBC Two featuring David Gilmour on his life and music.

The Executive Producer for the BBC Music Awards is Guy Freeman.

Background Notes

BBC Music Awards: In 2014, the BBC Music Awards took place in front of a sell-out audience of 13,500 people at London’s Earls Court and was broadcast to millions more across the country on BBC One, Radio 1, Radio 2 and at bbc.co.uk/music, with an average TV audience of 4.17m on BBC One. Performances from an array of internationally recognised names included Calvin Harris, Clean Bandit, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Ella Henderson with Labrinth, Ellie Goulding, George Ezra, John Newman, Will.i.am, Gregory Porter, One Direction, Paloma Faith, Sir Tom Jones, Take That, BBC Introducing’s Catfish and the Bottlemen, and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Ed Sheeran was crowned British Artist of the Year, with Pharrell Williams taking the award for International Artist of the Year. The Song of the Year, voted for by the public, was announced as Happy by Pharrell Williams. A surprise prize was given to BBC Introducing act Catfish and the Bottleman, who made their television debut on the night and went on to perform on the prestigious The Late Show with David Letterman in the US in January 2015.

BBC Birmingham: The BBC in Birmingham produces award-winning national and regional programming as well as being the BBC’s new centre of excellence for skills, recruitment and talent development. Birmingham is home to the BBC Academy, BBC Midlands Today, part of the BBC Asian Network, and BBC WM, and is the HQ for BBC English Regions. BBC WM 95.6 is proud to celebrate the area’s extraordinary musical legacy and has a long history of championing local music, most notably in the BBC Introducing programme. Some of the nation’s most-loved programmes are produced in Birmingham, including Radio 4’s The Archers and Home Front, BBC One’s Doctors and Father Brown. New drama The Coroner is also produced out of the Drama Village at the University of Birmingham campus in Selly Oak – filmed on location in Devon - and will be on screens in November.

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