The 2022 Mercury Prize ceremony has been postponed following the announcement that Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday (Sept. 8). The event had been scheduled to take place tonight at London’s Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith.
“In light of the sad news of the passing of Her Majesty the Queen, we are so sorry to announce that we will not be proceeding with this evening’s event as planned,” Mercury Prize shared in a statement.
“Mercury Prize will be communicating with guests and audience members over the coming days,” they added. “We thank you for your understanding at this difficult and sad time.”
The Mercury Prize celebrates the best of British and Irish music across a range of contemporary music genres. Last year, Arlo Parks took the prize for her album Collapsed in Sunbeams.
There is precedent for real life intruding on award shows, necessitating their postponement. In 1968, the Oscars were postponed two days because of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The show was originally scheduled for April 8, 1968, which was the day before King’s funeral. The show was pushed back to April 10.
In 1981, the Oscars were postponed a day because of the assassination attempt on President Reagan. The show was originally set for March 30, 1981, but was delayed when Reagan was shot that same day. It was held the next day, when it became clear that he would recover.
In 2001, the Emmys were postponed twice because of events related to 9/11. The show was originally scheduled for Sept. 16, 2001, just five days after the terrorist attacks. It was bumped to Oct. 7, but that date coincided with the state of the war in Afghanistan, forcing a second postponement to Nov. 4, seven weeks later than originally planned.
The 2022 Mercury Prize ceremony was to be hosted by Lauren Laverne and broadcast on BBC Four from 9 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. BT and on BBC Radio 6 Music from 7 p.m. to midnight.
On July 26, the Mercury Prize identified the 12 albums that were shortlisted for this year’s award, including Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, Little Simz’s Sometimes I Might be Introvert, Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under and an eponymous album by Wet Leg.
Eleven of the 12 nominees were confirmed to perform live at the ceremony. Styles had announced that he was unable to attend. He planned to instead pre-record a performance that would be broadcast during the event.
The 12 shortlisted artists will each receive an album of the year trophy, with the overall winner also receiving a winner’s trophy and a cash prize.
Here are the albums shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize:
- Fergus McCreadie – Forest Floor
- Gwenno – Tresor
- Harry Styles – Harry’s House
- Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler – For All Our Days That Tear The Heart
- Joy Crookes – Skin
- Kojey Radical – Reason to Smile
- Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
- Nova Twins – Supernova
- Sam Fender – Seventeen Going Under
- Self Esteem – Prioritise Pleasure
- Wet Leg – Wet Leg
- Yard Act – The Overload
