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 Britain's pop music honours,
for which the audience did not have to wear
masks or socially distance, took place at the O2
arena on the River Thames as the country emerges
from COVID-19 lockdown.
The ceremony, during which Billie Eilish and The
Weeknd were also winners, is part of the British
government's Events Research Programme aimed at
establishing whether big events can be held in
closed environments without social distancing.
The audience, of which 2,500 were key workers
with guests, were sat in rows, looking down on
two stages - one for presenters and another for
performers. Nominees sat at distanced tables.
"This evening we look forward to a brighter
future," host Jack Whitehall said. "We have an
audience ... we have pop stars, we are back."
Ticket holders had to show proof of a negative
lateral flow test result to enter the venue,
which has a capacity of around 20,000. They will
also need to take a test afterwards and provide
contact details as part of the UK's COVID test
and trace system.
"It feels surreal because it's been so long,"
Zunaira Faiz, who works at a north London
hospital, said upon arriving at the O2. "It
almost feels like I'm experiencing something
nostalgic because we haven't been able to do
this for so long."
Like elsewhere, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down
music events with live audiences in Britain.
Under Prime Minister Boris Johnson's phased
roadmap out of lockdown, entertainment venues
can re-open their doors next week.
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 Lipa, who won two awards -
female solo artist and album for "Future
Nostalgia", said she was dedicating her
performance to key workers.
"I feel very grateful to be sharing this evening
with them," she told Reuters.
While some performances were live, including
those of Lipa, breakthrough artist winner Parks
and Olivia Rodrigo, others were pre-recorded.
Wanting to embrace the community spirit and
kindness seen during COVID-19 lockdown, winners
were given two awards and encouraged to share
one.
American songstress Taylor Swift became the
first female artist to be honoured with the
Global Icon award. David Bowie, Elton John and
Robbie Williams were past recipients.
"I'm really proud to be a part of this musical
community especially in a year when we all
needed music so much," Swift, who travelled to
London for the awards, said, also paying tribute
to frontline workers.
Harry Styles won British single for "Watermelon
Sugar", while Little Mix became the first female
band to win British group. For a factbox of
winners, click:
(Reporting by Sarah Mills and Marie-Louise
Gumuchian; Additional reporting by Hanna Rantala;
Editing by Mike Collett-White and Richard Chang)
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