2026 in British music

This is a summary of the year 2026 in British music.

Events

1 January – Radio X listeners have voted the Wolf Alice single "The Sofa" as their Record of the Year for 2025 in the station's annual poll of music for the year.
7 January
* Aurora Orchestra announces that John Harte is to stand down as its chief executive in July 2026.
* The London Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of John Harte as its next managing director, effective in August 2026.
9 January – Skye Newman is named as the BBC Sound of 2026.
12 January – The Orchestra of the Swan announces the appointment of Zoë Curnow as its next executive director, effective 1 April 2026.
19 January – Scottish singer-songwriter Jacob Alon is named as the winner of the 2026 Brits Critics' Choice Award.
23 January – Robbie Williams' latest album, Britpop, reaches number one in the UK Albums Chart, giving him his 16th number one and surpassing a record previously held by The Beatles.

28 February – The 2026 Brit Awards are scheduled to be held at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, the first time in the ceremony's history that it will be held outside London.

13–15 March – The 2026 C2C: Country to Country festival is scheduled to take place at The O2 Arena in London, OVO Hydro in Glasgow, and SSE Arena in Belfast, headlined by Zach Top, Keith Urban, and Brooks & Dunn.

12 June – Harry Styles is scheduled to play the first of 12 dates at Wembley Stadium as part of his Together, Together tour, and will set a new record for the number of concerts played at the venue when he completes the Wembley leg of his tour on 4 July.
27 June–1 July – A new music festival, the Blenheim Palace Festival, is scheduled to be held in Oxfordshire.

23–26 July – The WOMAD Festival returns after a year's hiatus with the festival now based at Neston Park Estate near Corsham, Wiltshire.

The singles chart includes a proportion for streaming.

The albums chart includes a proportion for streaming.

The compilation albums chart includes a proportion for streaming.