Mercury Prize shortlist date confirmed as tickets go live for Newcastle awards ceremony

27 July 2026, 13:30 | Updated: 27 July 2026, 17:22

Sam Fender (centre) who was announced as the overall winner of the 2025 Mercury Music Prize at the Mercury Music Prize awards show, at the Utilita Arena, Newcastle. Picture date: Thursday October 16, 2025. — Sam Fender wins the Mercury Prize in 2025. Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Images/ Alamy

By Jenny Mensah

The prestigious awards ceremony will return to Newcastle's Utilita Arena this year on 22nd October with the shortlist announced later this week.

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The Mercury Prize shortlist is set to be announced this week.

The prestigious awards ceremony - which celebrates the best British and Irish albums of the year - previously shared its plans to return to Newcastle, with a ceremony which will take place at the city's Utilita Arena on Thursday 22nd October 2026.

Now it has been confirmed that this year's shortlisted albums will be revealed this week on Friday 31st July.

The awards show will feature live performances from many of the shortlisted artists and the evening will culminate with the overall winner of the Mercury Prize 2026 announced on the night.

Tickets for the 2026 Mercury Prize 'Albums of the Year' are now available to the general public here.

Each year, the Mercury Prize shortlist is curated by an independent judging team of music industry professionals, who are passionate about spotlighting artistic achievement across a range of genres.

The 2026 Mercury Prize judging team is: AFRODEUTSCHE - Composer, DJ & Radio 3 Unwind & 6 Music Broadcaster; Danielle Perry - Broadcaster (Absolute Radio & Jazz FM) & Musician; Jamie Cullum - Musician & Radio 2 Broadcaster; Jeff Smith - Head of Music, Radio 2 & 6 Music; Lea Stonhill – Music Programming Consultant; MistaJam – Songwriter, DJ & Broadcaster; Phil Alexander – Creative Director, Kerrang!/Contributing Editor, MOJO; Sian Eleri – Radio 1 Broadcaster & DJ; Sophie Williams – Music Writer & Broadcaster and Will Hodgkinson - Chief Rock & Pop Critic, The Times. The Chair of the judging team is Jeff Smith.

Last year's Mercury Prize Album Of The Year saw local hero Sam Fender take home the prize for his People Watching album in front of a sold-out crowd, beating out stiff competition from the likes of Fontaines D.C.'s Romance, Pulp's More, CMAT's EURO-COUNTRY and Wolf Alice's The Clearing.

Sam Fender - People Watching (Official Video starring Andrew Scott)

The North Shields singer-songwriter donated his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venue Trust, "which acts to protect, secure and improve UK Grassroots Music Venues for the benefit of venues, communities and upcoming artists."

The Rein Me In singer said of the move: "I wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out.

"These venues are legendary, but they are struggling."

The £25,000 prize is only a portion of what the proud Geordie artist has raised for Music Venue Trust in the past, with £100,000 from his 2024 arena tour previously going towards the charity through a small donation added to his tickets.

Sam Fender isn't the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize winnings over the years and in 2023, Ezra Collective gifted the money to a youth centre and grassroots venues.

Previous winners of the Mercury Prize include Primal Scream, PJ Harvey, Arctic Monkeys, English Teacher, Little Simz, Dave, Wolf Alice and Young Fathers.