BRIT AWARDS 2012-HOST, VENUE, DATE AND STATUE DESIGNER ANNOUNCED

The BRIT Awards 2012 with MasterCard

The UK’s premier music awards announce 2012 date and their second year at The O2 in London

Iconic BRIT statue to be designed by Sir Peter Blake

James Corden returns to host the most important music event of the year

21st February 2012 – The O2 – Tickets on sale now

Exclusively broadcast live on ITV1


The BRIT Awards with MasterCard will take place on Tuesday 21st February at The O2 in London for the second year running, after a triumphant first year in the world’s most successful music venue.

The 2012 Awards will also see winners presented with an exclusive trophy designed by Sir Peter Blake, for one year only. This is the second year the BRITs have asked that their ‘blank canvas’ trophy be designed by a leading British creative individual - last year fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood adorned the coveted statue. Sir Peter is responsible for some of the most iconic album sleeves of all time including The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Paul Weller – Stanley Road, Oasis – Stop The Clocks and the single sleeve for the Band Aid single Do They Know It’s Christmas?

Sir Peter Blake said: “I am very proud to be this year’s designer for the iconic BRIT Award trophy. It is wonderful to be a part of this most important and exciting music event, honouring the greatest of talents shaping our musical landscape. I’ve enjoyed the creative challenge to honour such leading performers enormously.”

The BRIT Awards are also proud to announce the return of one of the most talented and talked about British actors/writers/producers and presenters James Corden. James who is currently winning five star reviews in the play One Man, Two Guvnors will take time out of his hectic schedule to return for the second year in a row.

Speaking about The BRITs James said: “I enjoyed presenting the show so much last year so being asked back for the third time is a real honour. Ever since I was a teenager I’ve loved the BRIT Awards. As a music fan I feel totally privileged to have the best seat in the house. I can’t wait.”

BRITs Chairman David Joseph said: “We are delighted to be back at The O2 for a second year and also to welcome James Corden back again as our host, he did a fantastic job last year. We feel hugely honoured that Sir Peter Blake accepted the challenge of designing the trophy this year - the result is incredible. Having created possibly the world’s most iconic album sleeve with The Beatles, Sir Peter’s work is synonymous with the best of British music.’

2011 saw a raft of changes that marked a new era for the legendary awards that saw them become more iconic and relevant than ever before. Following this year's event the charts were dominated by BRIT artists. In the official albums chart, seven of the Top 10 albums were either by BRIT winners, performers or nominees. In the iTunes chart nine of the top 10 albums were BRIT winners or performers. Adele’s stunning rendition of ‘Someone Like You’ became the most talked-about performance this year. Following the BRITs the single climbed 46 places in the charts, reaching number one, where it spent five weeks in total.

Like last year, the main focus of the awards will be on the all-new MasterCard British Album Of The Year Award. The night will showcase and highlight the incredible world-class albums released by British artists over the course of the year. This year's triumphant winner was Mumford & Sons for the critically acclaimed ‘Sigh No More’.

Another significant change from previous years came by way of the Voting Academy, which, for the first time in the awards' history, invited artists to sit on the academy and cast votes. The Academy is made up of invited members from across the breadth of the UK music industry, from music critics to radio producers, music publishers, promoters, record companies, retailers and NUS representatives. With all 2011's winners and nominees being invited to join the panel for 2012, artists are now the single largest group represented.

Guests and viewers alike were this year treated to a magnificent array of performances which showcased the crème de la crème of both British and international talent in Take That, Adele, Rihanna, MasterCard British Album Of The Year Award winners Mumford & Sons, Plan B, Arcade Fire, Tinie Tempah and Cee Lo Green with guest performer, Paloma Faith. 2012 will see more amazing and exciting performances brought to the stage with tickets going on sale from today. Through MasterCard’s Priceless London campaign, MasterCard cardholders are being offered a priority window of one week to purchase their seats http://www.pricelesslondon.co.uk

More details of the 2012 Awards will be announced soon.
http://www.brits.co.uk



For further information, please contact:

Press/Online - DawBell
Stuart Bell/Richard Dawes – 0207 484 5012

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TV/Radio - Scream Promotions
Claire Jarvis/Tony Cooke – 0207 434 3446
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Notes to editors

The BRITs - Voting Academy **

The Academy is made up of 1,000 specially invited members from across the breadth of the UK music industry: music critics, music writers, online & student press, major & independent record companies, retailers, music TV and radio producers & presenters, music publishers, artist managers, live concert promoters, NUS representatives and DJs. Since 2011, Artists have been invited to join the Voting Academy.

Less than a quarter of the academy's membership is drawn from the recording industry and only 12% of the voting academy is drawn from major record companies.

All academy votes** are collected online, and are counted and verified by official scrutinisers ERS (Electoral Reform Services).


BRIT - British Record Industry Trust

The BRIT (British Record Industry Trust) Awards is organised by the BPI – the British recorded music industry association - which has over 400 record company members large and small who between them account for in excess of 90% of UK recorded music sales.

The BRIT Awards 2012 with MasterCard will be the 32nd BRIT Awards, which has raised more than £12.2 million for The BRIT Trust charity, whose main beneficiaries are the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology http://www.brit.croydon.sch.uk, Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy http://www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk and other selected charities which match the mission criteria.

Over 8,000 young people have been given free education and the opportunity to enter the BRIT School since its opening in 1991 and more than 10,000 children and adults have been helped by the extraordinary music therapy work carried out by Nordoff-Robbins.

The BRITs Committee 2012

The steering group that puts the show together, is made up of: David Joseph, Chairman (Universal Music), Jason Iley (Universal Music), Miles Leonard (EMI), Christian Tattersfield (Warners), Mike Smith (Sony Music), Ben Beardsworth (XL Recordings), Geoff Taylor (BPI) and Maggie Crowe (BRIT Awards Ltd), Adrian Carter (BRIT Awards Ltd), Mark Fletcher (BPI), John Kaye Cooper (ITV), Suzi Aplin (BRITs TV Exec Producer), Craig Gledhill (BRITs TV Producer), Stuart Bell/Richard Dawes (DawBell PR)

ITV

ITV Plc is the UK’s leading advertiser-funded, free-to-air broadcaster and employs almost 4,000 staff worldwide within its Broadcasting, ITV Studios and Online businesses.
ITV’s broadcasting business is made up of ITV1, the UK’s largest commercial TV channel in terms of audience share, and the UK’s leading portfolio of digital channels - ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4. Annually ITV invests around £1 billion in content for its broadcast channels and its website itv.com.

About MasterCard

MasterCard (NYSE: MA) is a global payments and technology company. It operates the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and solutions make everyday commerce activities - such as shopping, travelling, running a business and managing finances - easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Learn more at mastercard.com or follow us on Twitter @mastercardnews

About AEG & The O2

AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. It owns or operates some of the world’s best arenas and theatres, numerous sports franchises including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL) and LA Galaxy (MLS), and a collection of companies dedicated to producing, promoting and presenting world-class live entertainment.

In May 2005, AEG Europe announced that it would transform the former Millennium Dome and the surrounding area into the UK’s most exciting and technically advanced music, sport and entertainment destination. It was renamed The O2 and opened in June 2007.

The centrepiece of the multi-million pound development is the 20,000 capacity indoor arena, the most popular music arena in the world. There is also a live music venue – indigO2 - with a capacity of 2,350, The O2 bubble – a state of the art exhibition space that is host to the British Music Experience, a permanent, high-tech, interactive music museum, an 11 screen cinema complex, and a vibrant ‘Entertainment District’ featuring a variety of bars, restaurants and leisure facilities.

The O2 arena sold more tickets than any other arena in the world last year (breaking all previous records) – making it the most popular music venue in the world for the third year running.
Since opening The O2 has picked up many industry awards including Venue of the Year at the Music Week Awards, Pollstar International Arena of the Year (3 years running) and Best New Major Concert Venue, Venue of the Year at The Event Services Association and Favourite Venue at the TPI Awards.

In Zone 2 of London’s Underground, The O2 is situated on the Greenwich Peninsula next to the North Greenwich station on the Jubilee Line, which provides direct access to central London in less than twenty minutes. Thames Clippers, fast-speed catamarans run a ferry service from central London to the QEII pier next to the venue every 20 minutes.

The O2 is an official venue for the 2012 Olympics hosting both the gymnastic and basketball events.

AEG employs more than 3,000 staff in over 45 operating companies worldwide. Its international head office is in Los Angeles, and its European headquarters is based in London.