As the first major live event in Britain in more than a year, the 2021 Brit Awards proved full of surprises, with 4,000 maskless attendees gathering at the O2 to watch the ceremony. More than half of the audience consisted of key workers and their guests, with the government using the night to test safety protocols for large events moving forward. Below, all of the key moments from the evening.
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Jackie Weaver proved her authority once and for all
Jackie Weaver, the Zoom star of that viral meeting of the Handforth Parish Council, joined Jack Whitehall to intro the ceremony in a truly genius bit, which also featured Line of Duty’s Vicky McClure and Martin Compston. I really cannot do justice to the moment in which Weaver says to Whitehall, “I’m your worst nightmare. Now, listen up, you little twerp. If you don’t get on with it, I’ll kick you off.”
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Coldplay levitated over the Thames
The night’s opening performances honoured the magic of London, with Coldplay’s Chris Martin singing his latest hit “Higher Power” on a floating pontoon on the Thames, the capital’s skyline just visible in the background. Dua Lipa, meanwhile, treated the crowd to a Future Nostalgia medley, which began in a recreation of a Tube station within the O2. Commuting never looked so good.
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Dua Lipa paid tribute to both the Spice Girls and key workers
After celebrating her British roots in saffron Vivienne Westwood couture on the red carpet, Lipa changed into a hand-painted Union Jack blazer as she took to the stage – a sweet nod to Geri Halliwell’s custom Gucci dress for the 1997 awards. More importantly, Lipa followed her Best Female Artist win with an acceptance speech in which she called for a pay rise for key workers. Cue a standing ovation from every single person in the O2.
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Speaking of the Spice Girls, girl power became the de facto theme of the evening
After becoming the first girl band ever to win Best British Group, Little Mix paid tribute to all of the female musicians overlooked for the statuette in the past, including Girls Aloud, Sugababes, and All Saints. Meanwhile, Haim, who scooped the trophy for Best International Group, revealed that Taylor Swift considers herself the fourth Haim sister.
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‘It’s A Sin’ got a joyous tribute with a little help from Elton John
Russell T Davies’s gut-wrenching Channel 4 drama, set during the AIDS crisis in ’80s London, borrowed its name from a Pet Shop Boys hit. In honour of queer culture and resilience, the programme’s star, Years & Years’s Olly Alexander, performed the song as a duet with Elton John.
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Winners received not one, but two, statuettes
In a nod to the pay-it-forward theme of the ceremony, winners brought home a pair of statuettes designed by leading British artists Es Devlin and Yinka Ilori – with the idea being that each person would give one away to a loved one or hero of their choice. Lipa, for one, shared that she would be gifting hers to British nurse and healthcare administrator Elizabeth Anionwu.
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Michelle Obama stanned The Weeknd
It’s been a rough year for The Weeknd, with the artist caught up in a highly public feud with the Recording Academy after being totally shut out of the Grammys. His luck seems to be turning, however, with none other than Michelle Obama making a virtual cameo to present the 31-year-old artist with the Best International Male statuette. “He’s given us all a reason to dance,” the First Lady gushed, paying tribute to his work with the Black Lives Matter movement.
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