British Record Industry Trust

The BRIT Awards
2017 Brit Awards
The entrance to Earls Court in London on the evening of the 2008 BRIT Awards ceremony
Awarded for	Excellence in music
Country	United Kingdom
Presented by	British Phonographic Industry (BPI)
First awarded	18 October 1977; 39 years ago (1977-10-18) (as The BRITish Record Industry BRITannia Awards)
Website	Official website
Television/radio coverage
Network	Thames Television (1977) BBC One (1985–92) ITV (1993–present)

Most recent Brit Award winners

← 2016 22 February 2017 2018 →

Award British Male Solo Artist British Female Solo Artist Winner David Bowie (posthumous) Emeli Sandé   Award British Group International Group Winner The 1975 A Tribe Called Quest

The Brit Awards (sometimes stylised as the BRIT Awards; often simply called the Brits) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored by Britannia Music Club), but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trusts Show. In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music, called the Classic Brit Awards, is held each May. Robbie Williams holds the record for the most Brit Awards, 13 as a solo artist and another five as part of Take That.

The awards originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI. In 1989 they were renamed the Brit Awards.MasterCard has been the long-term sponsor of the event. The highest profile music awards ceremony in the UK, the Brit Awards have featured some of the most notable events in British popular culture, such as the final public appearance of Freddie Mercury, the Jarvis Cocker protest against Michael Jackson, and the Union Jack dress worn by Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls.

The Brit Awards were broadcast live until 1989, when Samantha Fox and Mick Fleetwood hosted a widely criticised show in which little went as rehearsed. In subsequent years, the event was recorded and broadcast the following night. From 2007, the Brit Awards reverted to a live broadcast on British television, on 14 February on ITV. In that year, comedian Russell Brand was presenter and three awards were dropped from the ceremony: Best British Rock Act, Best British Urban Act and Best Pop Act. On 18 February 2009, the venue for the BRITs was once again the Earls Court, London. The Brit Awards were held at The O2 in London for the first time in 2011.