News

Mercury Prize 2012 Album Of The Year Announcement

• 7th Sep 2012

Barclaycard Mercury Prize ‘2012 Albums of the Year’ to be announced on Wednesday 12 September

The Barclaycard Mercury Prize ‘2012 Albums of the Year’ will be revealed at 5.30pm on Wednesday 12 September 2012. The announcement, made by presenter and broadcaster Lauren Laverne, will be hosted by The Hospital Club in Covent Garden.

For the first time, the Albums of the Year Launch will be an evening event with dedicated television coverage broadcast on Channel 4 later the same night. The 30-minute Albums of the Year Launch programme will be presented by Nick Grimshaw and feature live performances and interviews with the shortlisted artists.

The Prize recognises and celebrates music in the UK and has a reputation for highlighting both new talent and more established bands and artists. The shortlist of 12 ‘Albums of the Year’ is chosen by an independent judging panel and provides a snapshot of the year in music, recognising artistic achievement across a range of music genres.

The Launch is the first event of the Barclaycard Mercury Prize Albums of the Year season. This year will see a new series of exclusive one-off gigs featuring the shortlisted artists being held ahead of the Awards Show on 1 November. Tickets for the events will be made available through competitions and a special ballot system developed in association with the Prize’s title partner, Barclaycard and The Ticket Factory. Entry to the gigs will be free, although a donation of £10 will need to be made to War Child in order to secure each pair of tickets. Barclaycard will be matching all donations made using a Barclaycard. Fans can register for more information at: https://www.theticketfactory.com

The overall winner of the 2012 Prize will be decided and announced at the Barclaycard Mercury Prize Awards Show at the Roundhouse on Thursday 1 November.