Surprise!
Mercury Prize 2025 announces surprise move to Newcastle Upon Tyne
This year’s Prize will be the first ever ceremony to take place outside of London.
The Mercury Prize has announced that this year’s ceremony will be held in Newcastle! The surprise announcement was revealed today alongside the date for the ceremony, which has been confirmed as 16th October 2025. It’s the first time the ceremony will have ever been held outside of the capital city.
Instead, this year’s awards will take place at Utilita Arena, Newcastle, in partnership with Newcastle City Council and The North East Combined Authority. The awards body announced that shortlists for the 2025 ‘Album of the Year’ will be announced on 10th September, with the BBC broadcasting the ceremony as normal.
The Mercury Prize celebrates the best new British and Irish music and awards a prize for an album each year. Previous winners include the likes of English Teacher, Ezra Collective, Little Simz, Wolf Alice, Arctic Monkeys and more.
As is the norm, this year’s ceremony will feature live performances from some of the twelve shortlisted artists, with the announcement of the 2025 winner at the end of the night.
Alongside the prize, Newcastle will host a week-long fringe of events organised by Generator (the North’s leading music development agency), which will aim to encourage new opportunities for local artists, venues, and communities.
“The fact that Newcastle has been chosen as the first location for the prestigious Mercury Prize to ever be held outside of London speaks volumes of the growing strength of the music industry in the city and wider city region,” said Cllr Karen Kilgour, Leader of Newcastle City Council on the news. “I am biased of course, but this is the best city in the world and it is no surprise to me that there is global interest in Newcastle.”
She continued: “While other cities are renowned for past icons of music, Newcastle is looking to the future and our growing reputation for emerging talents and industry investment is testament to that.”
Tickets to the 2025 Mercury Prize are available to the general public here.
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