About the Barclaycard Mercury Prize

The Barclaycard Mercury Prize 2010 will be awarded on Tuesday 7 September to the best British or Irish album of the year, as judged by a panel of music industry executives and experts.

The nominated 12 albums will be announced on Tuesday 20 July.

The prize is open to all styles of music and was initially established by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the British Association of Record Dealers (BARD) in 1992 as an alternative to the more commercial BRIT Awards. The prize takes its name from a former telecoms sponsor, 'Mercury', and is judged solely on the strength of the recorded album as opposed to record sales or media profile of a particular artist.

For the third year running, Lauren Laverne, from 6 Music, will be presenting the BBC Television's coverage of the prize.