News

Hyundai Mercury Prize announces Iris Elba as guest presenter

• 13th Sep 2017

Today it has been announced that Idris Elba will be a guest presenter at the 2017 Hyundai Mercury Prize Awards Show taking place on Thursday, 14 September at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, and hosted by BBC Music’s Lauren Laverne.

The Show will feature live performances from many of the shortlisted artists including Alt-J, Blossoms, Dinosaur, Glass Animals, J Hus, Kate Tempest, Loyle Carner, Sampha, Stormzy, The Big Moon and The xx. The evening will culminate in the announcement of the overall winner of the 2017 Hyundai Mercury Prize for ‘Album of the Year’.

Idris Elba said “The Hyundai Mercury Prize is a huge moment in the music calendar and I’m so happy to be involved. It is so important that we continue to celebrate the album as a work of art and this is a special night to celebrate the incredible shortlisted artists.”

Idris Elba is a world-renowned actor, DJ and producer who has played across the globe, from LA to Ibiza. He is also a respected music producer who has also lent his vocals to various projects including Macklemore and Ryan Lewis as well as releasing through his own 7WALLACE imprint.

It has also been announced today that the 2016 Hyundai Mercury Prize winner, Skepta has now been added to the line-up of live performances at the Awards Show.

As one of the most prestigious prizes in music, the night will see some of the most exciting artists of the last year play live at the Awards Show – together with the 2016 winner, Skepta.

Extra tickets to attend the Show have now been released and are available priced from £23.

The Hyundai Mercury Prize ‘Albums of the Year’ celebrate and promote the best of UK music, recognising artistic achievement across an eclectic range of contemporary music genres.

The Prize’s broadcast partner, BBC Music, will be providing live television and radio coverage of the event on BBC Four and BBC Radio 6 Music. The BBC Four show starting at 9pm will be featuring performances from the artists on the night, building up to moment the winner is announced live. Ahead of this on 10 September, BBC Two will broadcast a 30 minute documentary previewing the shortlisted artists for the 2017 Prize, speaking to artists from the vanguard of grime, performance poetry and guitar rock, as
well as past Mercury winners shortlisted again this year for the prestigious prize. BBC Radio 6 Music will also be broadcasting live on the night, building up to the moment the winner is announced and interviewing the recipient.

Hyundai Motor is very proud to support innovation in British music and will celebrate all the shortlisted artists as we build up to this year’s awards show.

The Prize’s digital music partner, Apple Music, will be promoting the Mercury Prize from the shortlist announcement through to the Awards Show in September. Apple Music will also help music fans discover new music with dedicated playlists featuring the shortlisted artists, albums and more.

The majority of the artists shortlisted have confirmed to perform one track
from their shortlisted album.

The 2017 Hyundai Mercury Prize Albums of the Year:
alt-j Relaxer
Blossoms Blossoms
Dinosaur Together, As One
Ed Sheeran Divide
Glass Animals How to be a Human Being
J Hus Common Sense
Kate Tempest Let Them Eat Chaos
Loyle Carner Yesterday’s Gone
Sampha Process
Stormzy Gang Signs & Prayer
The Big Moon Love in the 4th Dimension
The xx I See You