Having faced one of their toughest years ever, a host of talent from across the arts industry is set to be celebrated next month at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards. Now in its 24th year, the annual ceremony will take place next month at the London Coliseum in a new, socially distanced format. The awards will be free for everyone to watch on Sky Arts, Freeview channel 11, at 8pm on Sunday 20th December.
Hosted by Melvyn Bragg, the South Bank Sky Arts Awards is the only Awards ceremony in the world to acknowledge and celebrate every genre of the Arts, including Dance, Classical Music, Comedy, Film, Literature, Opera, Pop, Theatre, TV Drama and Visual Art.
The TV Drama category proves that it has been another exceptional year for British television drama: Sky Original Chernobyl is nominated alongside Channel 4's The Virtues and BBC One's epic Years and Years. Meanwhile in Comedy, BBC Three and Amazon Prime's critically acclaimed Fleabag goes up against Netflix smash hit Sex Education and Channel 4's insightful and charming Home. A hotly contested Film category also spans multiple genres, featuring Rocketman, The Souvenir and For Sama.
On stage, Sheffield's renowned Crucible Theatre boasts two separate nominations in the Theatre category for new plays Standing at the Sky's Edge, directed by Robert Hastie with music by Richard Hawley, and Life of Pi, directed by Max Webster. They go head to head with The Jamie Lloyd Company's production of Cyrano de Bergerac at the Playhouse Theatre, directed by Jamie Lloyd and starring James McAvoy in the title role.
Music categories are particularly strong this year, with BRIT award-winning rapper Dave's album Psychodrama competing with Kano's Hoodies All Summer and Mercury Prize winner Michael Kiwanuka's Kiwanuka, in the Pop category.
Meanwhile in Classical Music, Edinburgh International Festival's performance of G tterd mmerung, from Sir Andrew Davis and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra is nominated alongside the Thomas Ad s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with the piano soloist Kirill Gerstein. The final nominee in the category is the world premiere of the Thea Musgrave Trumpet Concerto, from the Cheltenham Music Festival and CBSO, based on a series of paintings by Scottish artist Victoria Crowe.
The Opera nominees include Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk from Birmingham Opera Company, directed by Graham Vick and conducted by former Times Breakthrough nominee Alpesh Chauhan, and Katya Kabanova, a story of love and loneliness from The Royal Opera. They are up against the dark and beautiful fairy tale of isolation and enchantment, Iolanta, from Opera Holland Park.
In Dance, Northern Ballet's tale of passion, tragedy and fierce devotion, Victoria, is nominated alongside Ballet Black's Ingoma, a fusion of ballet, African dance and song. Matthew Bourne's contemporary reimagining of Shakespeare's timeless love story, Romeo and Juliet, is the final nominee.
In Visual Art, Tracey Emin's A Fortnight of Tears at White Cube is nominated alongside Only Human, the Martin Parr exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, and Steve McQueen's celebrated Year 3 project in collaboration with Tate Britain, Artangel and A New Direction, which appeared on billboards across London.
The authors nominated in the Literature category are Sara Collins for the thrilling murder mystery The Confessions of Frannie Langton, Edna O'Brien, for her powerful story of survival, Girl, and Laura Cumming for the deeply moving On Chapel Sands: My mother and other missing persons.
Promising artists at the start of their career will be celebrated in The Times Breakthrough Award. A clear marker for stars on the rise, it has been previously awarded to actors Jessie Buckley and Tom Hiddleston, grime and hip hop artist Stormzy and extraordinary cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. This year, Dafne Keen, star of the BBC's His Dark Materials, Candice Carty-Williams, author of bestselling novel Queenie and dancer Paris Fitzpatrick are among the young hopefuls competing for the prize.
The final award is the Outstanding Achievement Award, the winner of which will be revealed on the night. This award recognises the remarkable contribution an artist has made to the Arts, throughout their career to date. Previous winners include Harold Pinter, Judi Dench, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Benedict Cumberbatch and last year, Sir Lenny Henry.
Melvyn Bragg commented:
"This years Awards will inevitably be a very different sort of event for very different circumstances, but nonetheless will be an inspiring and uplifting celebration of the remarkable talent and strength of many artists at the peak of their powers. The diverse and eclectic list of nominees in every category proves that there is much to enjoy in the Arts - even in the toughest of times."
Phil Edgar-Jones, Director of Sky Arts and Entertainment, commented:
When I look at the list of nominees for the South Bank Sky Arts Awards it's simultaneously inspiring and heart-breaking. The talent and creativity on display is awesome but at the same time makes our lost 2020 more poignant and reinforces how much we need and miss our brilliant artists, actors, musicians, dancers and all-round entertainers.
Full List of Nominees
Classical Music
G tterd mmerung
Edinburgh International Festival
Sir Andrew Davis and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Thomas Ad s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Thea Musgrave Trumpet Concerto
Cheltenham Music Festival / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Comedy
Fleabag
BBC Three and Amazon Prime Video / Two Brothers Pictures Ltd
Sex Education
Netflix / Eleven Film
Home
Jantaculum / Channel X for Channel 4
Dance
Victoria
Northern Ballet
Ingoma
Ballet Black
Matth
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
06/03/2026
Ten years after its release, South African hip-hop artist Kwesta's DaKAR II is still making waves. With 51.8 million streams on Spotify, the album continues...
06/03/2026
06 Mar 2026
VEON and JazzWorld Advance Pakistan's Digital Financial Future ...
06/03/2026
Friday 6 March 2026
Teaser revealed for Saturday Night Live UKTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy options and select Accept All'.
Privacy...
06/03/2026
Discover how the F1 sound team turned a real Grand Prix into a cinematic experience.
Director Joseph Kosinski and his team worked directly with the Formula On...
06/03/2026
Arvato Systems Joins Initiative D21 e. V.
Shaping digital transformation together
Collaboration in Germanys largest network for the digital society
Membersh...
06/03/2026
The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) is a global initiative dedicated to c...
06/03/2026
We are deeply saddened to hear the very sad news of the death of our friend and colleague, John McHugh. John was an exceptionally talented creative leader who s...
06/03/2026
First exclusive look at RT 's promo as Ireland prepare to take on Czechia
Every Moment, Every Generation
https://youtu.be/2ijo96EadLU
36 years after Geor...
05/03/2026
A little over a year ago, Spotify introduced the quarterly Creator Milestone Awa...
05/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz enables rapid validation of next-gen Wi-Fi 8 networking platform...
05/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz acquires Software Radio Systems (SRS), specialists in software d...
05/03/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
RT Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2...
05/03/2026
Thursday 5 March 2026
Sky News secures ninth News Channel of the Year award as ...
05/03/2026
Thursday 5 March 2026
Sky Sports launches first ever nationwide creator competi...
05/03/2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 5, 2026 - At the 2026 NAB Show, Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT)...
05/03/2026
Comscore and Yahoo DSP Partner to Advance CTV Political Advertising with Proximi...
04/03/2026
For many fans, a song's backstory can be just as compelling as the final pro...
04/03/2026
In 2006, Spotify was founded on the belief that technology could bring artists a...
04/03/2026
Spotify is back on the ground for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and we&#...
04/03/2026
Spotify had an energizing week in Sydney, Australia, filled with powerful conver...
04/03/2026
Earlier this year, we launched Directed By, a documentary-style series that pull...
04/03/2026
KT and Rohde & Schwarz to showcase AI-enhanced radio transmission performance In a joint 6G AI proof-of-concept demonstration, the CMX500 one-box tester from ...
04/03/2026
Luxembourg, 3 March 2026 - SES S.A. has today published its 2025 Annual Report, following the announcement of the company's full year financial results for ...
04/03/2026
Luxembourg, March 3, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, along with I...
04/03/2026
04 Mar 2026
VEON Partners with GSMA Innovation Fund to Accelerate Digital Innov...
04/03/2026
04 Mar 2026
VEON's Beeline Uzbekistan and Rakuten Symphony Partner for Open...
04/03/2026
Wednesday 4 March 2026
Sky Sports unveils plans for 2026 Formula 1 coverage
Sky Sports is preparing for one of the most highly anticipated F1 seasons in recen...
03/03/2026
For many, finding time or headspace to pick up a book can feel out of reach, but...
03/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Realtek demonstrate first test solution for Bluetooth LE Hi...
03/03/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
03/03/2026
Luxembourg, 2 March 2026 -- SES S.A. fully consolidates Intelsat from 17 July 2025 and announces financial results for the year ended 31 December 2025
FY25 Pe...
03/03/2026
RT is proud to support a rich and diverse programme of arts and cultural events taking place across Ireland throughout March 2026. This month brings a remarkab...
03/03/2026
03 Mar 2026
VEON and MeetKai Expand Collaboration to Explore Sovereign AI Infra...
03/03/2026
Tuesday 3 March 2026
Sky releases official trailer for The Miniature Wife, a Sk...
03/03/2026
Tuesday 3 March 2026
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac land first ever live commentary ...
03/03/2026
Tuesday 3 March 2026
The Dyers' Caravan Park reopens for a second season after a hit launch on Sky
The Dyers' Caravan Park
JPEG (510KB)
Sky books a ...
03/03/2026
Harmonic's cOS Virtualized Broadband Platform Simplifies Network Operations, Lowers Hardware Dependency and Enables Seamless DOCSIS and Fiber Growth SAN JO...
03/03/2026
Comscore to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial ResultsRESTON, VA, March 3, 2026 Comscore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for plannin...
03/03/2026
Self-taught on iMovie, Hanagami transitioned to Final Cut Pro in 2009, discovering that professional tools could give him full creative control over how his wor...
03/03/2026
RT Media Sales has announced Spry Finance has renewed it's sponsorship of M...
02/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates FR1-FR3 carrier aggregation, advancing 6G readiness Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. have reached another pivotal ...
02/03/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, and Arqit Quantum Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQQ, A...
02/03/2026
Luxembourg, February 26, 2026 - SES and Africa Mobile Network (AMN) have expande...
02/03/2026
Monday 2 March 2026
Saturday Night Live UK announces writing team
L-R: Jonno Johnson; Charlie Skelton; Celya AB; Omar Badawy; Gr inne Maguire; Laura Claxton; ...
Having faced one of their toughest years ever, a host of talent from across the arts industry is set to be celebrated next month at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards. Now in its 24th year, the annual ceremony will take place next month at the London Coliseum in a new, socially distanced format. The awards will be free for everyone to watch on Sky Arts, Freeview channel 11, at 8pm on Sunday 20th December.
