Nirvana to receive Video Vanguard Award at 2026 MTV VMA Awards

10 September 2026, 17:03 | Updated: 10 September 2026, 18:02

Nirvana backstage at Nakano Sunplaza, Tokyo, Japan on 19th December 1992. Picture: Gutchie Kojima/Shinko Music/Getty Images

By Jenny Mensah

The grunge icons will be celebrated for their legacy at the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony on Sunday 27th September.

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Nirvana have been named the recipient of the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards' Video Vanguard Award.

The grunge band - comprised of the late frontman Kurt Cobain, and ex-members bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl - are set to receive the special honour, whose previous recipients include Red hot Chili Peppers, U2, Katy Perry, Kanye West, Beyonce, Beastie Boys, Missy Elliot and George Michael.

The announcement was shared on Thursday (9th September), the same date that Nirvana first took to the VMAs stage in 1992 to perform their Lithium single and won the award for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Video.

34 years later, the band will be celebrated for their legacy at the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony on Sunday 27th September, which is set to take place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California.

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Kurt Cobain tragically lost his life to suicide on 5th April 1994, at age 27, which led to the band's dissolvement.

However the band's lasting influence and impact has continued through the decades. Their Smells Like Teen Spirit single - which was released in the US on this day in 1991 - and its accompanying video is widely considered one of the most iconic songs of the grunge era, bringing the genre into the maintream.