Brit Awards: Red carpet in pictures

18 February 2020

The 40th Brit Awards is taking place at London's O2 Arena on Tuesday evening.

The best of Britain's musical talent and some top international stars have dressed up for the occasion, as ever.

A few of them no doubt are acting up too, if recent history is anything to go by.

Before the prizes were dished out, here's how they were looking on arrival.

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Lewis Capaldi was the main man to watch, as he was up for four awards, including best male and best single.

The Scottish star also performed at the ceremony.

He made some peace signs at photographers as he strolled down the red carpet this evening in a bright blue shirt jacket.

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His main competition, in both the fashion and music prize stakes, came from London rapper Dave, whose debut album Psychodrama won last year's Mercury Prize.

Fun fact: winning album of the year would make the 21-year-old only the second artist, after the Arctic Monkeys, to win both a Brit and Mercury Prize for the same record.

Like Lewis, Dave was up for four awards. He was looking like a real sharp-shooter in that suit jacket.

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Billie Eilish was set to perform her new James Bond theme, No Time to Die, for the first time live at the Brits.

She went almost full Burberry for her arrival and gave the cameras a thousand yard stare that any Bond villain would be proud of.

The 18-year-old was also nominated for best international female, alongside another US pop sensation...

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...And that's Lizzo, sporting a triple bun hairstyle and a chocolate-wrapper dress.

Lizzo and Billie were up against Ariana Grande, Camila Cabello and Lana Del Rey in a crowded field of superstars.

It's unlikely to faze either of them though, we reckon.

The Brits have been criticised for a lack of diversity this year, with only four women nominated across the four categories open to both male and female artists - best group, best new artist, best song and album of the year.

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Stormzy had his cricket whites on tonight, in case an impromptu game breaks out.

He's won Brit awards before and delivered a moment to remember in 2018, with his rain-drenched bare-chested attack on the government over their response to the Grenfell Tower fire.

The grime MC told Radio 1's Nick Grimshaw it's still "weird" having his picture taken by loads of photographers.

"You feel like you're getting attacked with flashing lights and cameras," he said.

"If you see me on the red carpet, it's not elegant."

Newsbeat reporter Sinead Garvin begged to differ, saying Stormzy - up for three awards, including best album - looked and smelled "delightful". We can't confirm or deny that.

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Tom Walker arrived in his signature hipster woolly hat rolled up above the ears and his shirt and tie.

He also had his shirt un-tucked so let's hope the hallway monitors weren't lurking around or he wouldn't have been let in.

Which would be a shame as his track Just You And I was up for best song.

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Laura Whitmore arrived in a dress covered in newspaper headlines.

She made the headlines herself recently when she took over Love Island presenting duties from Caroline Flack, and this week paid tribute to her late friend live on her BBC Radio 5 live show.

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BBC Sound of 2020 winner Celeste was channelling her inner Elizabeth Taylor and told BBC Radio 5 Live's Colin Paterson she was feeling "incredible".

She was in the comfortable position of knowing she's got the rising star award already in the bag, but was slightly nervier about the prospect of performing her breakthrough track, Strange.

"This will be the first time ever that I've performed in front of this many people," she said.

We doubt it'll be the last.

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Celeste succeeds Sam Fender, who was named as the one to look out for last year.

This year he was up against the likes of his mate Lewis Capaldi in the best new act category.

He joked he was "just going to turn up, watch Lewis Capaldi win everything and then go home".

The Geordie rocker could well be right but at least he looked good in the pictures in that suit.

It has to be a loose fit, as The Happy Mondays once sang.

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Bastille looked like they were in four different bands but somehow strangely pulled it off.

They were up for best British group, against Coldplay, Foals. Bring Me The Horizon and D-Block Europe.

Newly-bleached blonde singer Dan Smith said they were ready to "put on our best loser faces".

Come on lads, you'll never win anything with that attitude.

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Billie Eilish might be singing about Bond but Aitch could make a passable 007 himself in this get-up. Don't you think?

The north Manchester rapper was up for best new act, which he said he was excited about, despite the fact "nothing much excites me".

He did promise to bring some "mad bars" [lyrics] to our ears in 2020 though.

Here are some more of the big names on the red carpet, so you have something to hand to your fashion adviser in the morning.

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Harry Styles paid tribute to the late Caroline Flack by wearing a black ribbon on his jacket on the red carpet.

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Rag 'n' Bone Man

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Charli XCX

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Joy Crookes, who was nominated for the rising star award, was dressed in a traditional south Asian dress so "young girls can see someone who looks like their mum, their auntie, their gran on the red carpet at the Brits".