Sir Peter Blake designs Brit Awards trophy

Sir Peter Blake has released a sketch of his designs for the Brit Awards trophy

Artist Sir Peter Blake has given the Brit Awards statuette a pop art makeover ahead of next year's ceremony.

Sir Peter, who is best known for designing The Beatles' Sgt Pepper album cover, has redesigned the Britannia statuette, which will be given to the winners at the event in February.

He revealed that Brits organisers had rejected his first design.

"I did something and they said: 'Could you make it a bit more pop art?'" he told BBC News. "So it's pop arted up."

He said he had added "some symbols around the bottom that I've used constantly over the years - a star and a heart and half a rainbow and a target".

"So it looks very much like my work," he said. "It needed a signature and I think those symbols gave it the signature."

The 79-year-old artist is the second person to redesign the trophy, after fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood created her version for the 2011 ceremony.

According to Brits chairman David Joseph, the famous collage Sir Peter designed for the 1967 Beatles album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is "the world's most iconic album sleeve".

"Sir Peter's work is synonymous with the best of British music," he said, calling his design concept for the award "incredible".

Other album covers designed by Sir Peter include Paul Weller's Stanley Road and Oasis's Stop the Clocks.

Actor James Corden will once again host the ceremony, which will take place at London's O2 Arena on 21 February.

"I enjoyed presenting the show so much last year so being asked back for the third time is a real honour," the 33-year-old said.