Coldplay is set to open the 2021 Brit Awards on May 11 performing on a pontoon on the Thames near The O2 arena, where the show is being held. Their performance will follow the release of their new single “Higher Power,” which is being released on Friday.
This will be Coldplay’s third performance at the Brits in five years. They opened the 2016 show with “Hymn for the Weekend.” And they teamed with The Chainsmokers the following year to perform their collab smash “Something Just Like This.”
This will be Coldplay’s first TV performance in more than a year. Likewise, the Brit Awards will be the first live music show at The O2 in more than a year.
Coldplay has won British group at the Brits four times, more often than any other group. They have won British album of the year three times, which puts them in a tie with Arctic Monkeys for the lead. Coldplay has won two other Brit Awards, for a total of nine. Their 28 Brit nominations is the most by any group.
The Brit Awards 2021 with Mastercard – as the show is officially billed – has previously announced performances by Olivia Rodrigo, Arlo Parks, Dua Lipa, Griff (this year’s Rising Star winner), Headie One, and Rag’n’Bone Man & P!nk with the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust Choir.
This year’s Brit Awards, hosted by comedian and actor Jack Whitehall, will be exclusively broadcast on ITV and ITV Hub.
The Brit Awards last month announced that it will be the first major indoor music event to welcome back a live audience. The indoor ceremony and live show will form part of the U.K. government’s scientific Events Research Programme, using enhanced testing approaches to examine how events can take place without the need for social distancing.
