Brits 2026: 29 Photos That Sum Up What The Awards Show Looked Like 10 Years Ago

As much as awards shows like the Brits are all about recognising the top achievements of the last year, for many of us, they also give the opportunity to look back at some truly iconic pop culture moments.

While the 2016 trend dominated social media earlier this year, it just so happens that 10 years ago was a stand-out year for the Brit Awards, too.

From jaw-dropping red carpet fashion and some seriously iconic performances we’re still obsessed with a decade later to more emotional scenes and surprise link-ups, the 2016 Brits had it all – and here are 29 pictures that sum up everything that went down that night…

Let’s start as all good awards shows do – with the red carpet, where Jess Glynne sported this eye-catching look

The nation’s sweetheart – then still known as Cheryl Fernandez-Versini – brought the glamour with this ensemble

Kylie Minogue walked the red carpet in this enormous black hat, with her then-fiancé Joshua Sasse in tow

And speaking of superfluous hats… here’s James Bay, who matched Adele and Years & Years with four nominations each

Charli XCX was a long way from the Brat era as she made one of her first Brits appearances

Similarly, Lana Del Rey’s 2016 Brits look was very different to what we’re used to from the music icon

All eyes were on Rihanna, who was still riding a huge of acclaim off the back of her recently-released Anti album

And shall we talk about this high-key serve from Sinitta?

The Brits were hosted by Ant and Dec for the second consecutive year in 2016

Coldplay kicked off the night with a rendition of their then-recent hit Hymn For The Weekend (sadly without Beyoncé)

The first win of the ceremony went to Adele, following the mammoth success of her album 25, and she took a moment to voice her solidarity with Kesha, who was at the height of her legal woes at that time

Other performers on the night included Rihanna – with special appearances from a pre-Ctrl SZA…

A very blond Justin Bieber brought a lot of heat for his rendition of Sorry

The Weeknd brought his song The Hills to life on the Brits stage

Before Jess’ performance, Ant and Dec were caught somewhat off guard when their introduction was interrupted by the scantily-clad model Sadie Pinn

The Brits took place just weeks after the death of David Bowie, with Annie Lennox paying her respects with an emotional speech

After that, Gary Oldman came out to accept the Icon Award on Bowie’s behalf, before introducing a tribute performance from Lorde, who he pointed out the music icon had once described as the future of music

Lorde’s stoic rendition of Life On Mars? remains one of our favourite ever Brits performance

One Direction’s Drag Me Down was awarded Video Of The Year, with Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson representing the recently-disbanded group on the main stage

Fleur East and Craig David teamed up to present an award to Björk (who, sadly, was not in attendance to accept it in person)