Pop stars, key workers gather for BRIT Awards in LondonLive, at last!

Some 4,000 people watched singers Dua Lipa and Arlo Parks triumph as well as perform at the BRIT Awards on Tuesday, in the first major indoor music event with a live audience held in London in over a year.

Britain’s pop music honours, for which the audience did not have to wear masks or socially distance, took place at the O2 arena on the River Thames as the country emerges from Covid-19 lockdown.

The ceremony, during which Billie Eilish and The Weeknd were also winners, is part of the British government’s Events Research Programme aimed at establishing whether big events can be held in closed environments.

Lipa, who won two awards – female solo artist and album for Future Nostalgia, said she was dedicating her performance to key workers. American songstress Taylor Swift became the first female artist to be honoured with the Global Icon award. Harry Styles won British single for Watermelon Sugar, while Little Mix became the first female band to win British group. —Reuters