The winner of the 2026 Mercury Prize will be announced on 22 October in Newcastle from a shortlist of 12 albums that includes Paul McCartney, Florence + The Machine, RAYE and two past winners, Suede and Dave.
The 2026 Mercury Prize shortlist has 12 albums, and the winner will be announced at an awards show on Thursday, 22 October 2026 at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, according to the Official Charts Company and the Newcastle Gateshead events page. The prize recognises the best new British and Irish music, and BBC Music is its broadcast partner.
The 12 albums are: Dave, The Boy Who Played the Harp; Dove Ellis, Blizzard; Florence + The Machine, Everybody Scream; JADE, THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY!; Knats, A Great Day in Newcastle; Kojey Radical, Don’t Look Down; Nia Archives, Emotional Junglist; Olivia Dean, The Art of Loving; Paul McCartney, The Boys of Dungeon Lane; RAYE, THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.; Suede, Antidepressants; and War Child Records, HELP(2).
Two of the nominees have won the prize before. Suede won in 1993 with their debut album, and Dave won in 2019 with Psychodrama, according to the Official Charts Company. The gap between Suede’s win and this nomination is 33 years, a calculation by Delima News.
The shortlist spans several styles, from indie and rock to rap, jungle and pop, according to the Official Charts description of the list as covering indie, electronic and experimental sounds. Paul McCartney is a notable name on the list, and his album’s title is the one on the shortlist, but the sources reviewed do not give details of its release date or reception.
The show will include live performances, and the artists named as performers are Dove Ellis, Florence + The Machine, JADE, Knats, Kojey Radical, Nia Archives, Olivia Dean, RAYE, Suede and Pulp, according to Record of the Day. Pulp are not on the shortlist of 12 albums, so they are not competing for the prize, and the sources reviewed do not say what they will perform or why they were invited.
The list includes one entry that is not by a single artist: HELP(2), credited to War Child Records, is the label’s charity compilation. The sources reviewed do not describe it, so Delima News does not give its contents or the artists on it.
Knats’ album A Great Day in Newcastle has a title that matches the host city of the show, according to the list, though the reports do not draw a connection or say where the band is from.
The shortlist is made up of eleven artists and one label project, and it includes both established names and newer acts, such as Nia Archives and Olivia Dean, whom the Official Charts Company describes as emerging names. Because the prize is judged on a single album, the shortlist is as much a guide to the year in British and Irish music as a ranking of the artists.
The sources reviewed do not give the names of the judges, the odds of the bookmakers or the amount of the prize, so none of those details are given. Delima News will report the winner after the show on 22 October.
Image: The Utilita Arena in Newcastle, venue of the Mercury Prize show (file photo). Photo: M J Richardson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
