The MTV EMAs, one of the glitziest nights in the global pop music calendar, is to be held in Manchester for the first time.
The music network’s Europe music awards will be held on 10 November at the city’s new Co-op Live arena, which is set to become the UK’s largest indoor venue when it opens in April.
Bev Craig, leader of Manchester city council, said: “With the expertise, experience and reputation we also have for delivering successful, world-class events, we’re confident Manchester will provide a superb platform for the best MTV EMAs yet.”
Founded in 1994, the awards are the sister event to the US-focused VMAs, and their remit actually stretches beyond Europe to encompass global music. As well as individual European counties, award categories span the US, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Australia and New Zealand.
The UK has hosted the event seven times before, in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and Belfast. Last year’s ceremony in Paris was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. In 2022, Düsseldorf hosted performances from stars including Tate McRae, Stormzy, Muse and David Guetta.
Co-op Live is due to open on 23 April with a show by local comedian Peter Kay, but details are still being ironed out regarding the arena’s operating licence, after objections were voiced by residents and also ASM Global, which operates the rival AO Arena in the city.
ASM argued that it wanted to “safeguard public safety and the prevention of public nuisance”, and opposed Co-op Live having 25 days a year where it could open for 24 hours. Mark Donnelly, chief operating officer of Oak View Group who own Co-op Live, said the company was “quite disappointed to see [ASM] are trying to put conditions on us when they operate with an unrestricted licence. We feel these are competition-based.”
