Women dominate the Brit Awards

Dua Lipa won the coveted prize for British Album of the Year at the Brit Awards on Tuesday, in a ceremony that saw female artists dominate the mixed categories.

About 4 000 guests streamed into London’s O2 arena for the first gathering in two years as part of the government’s pilot scheme easing coronavirus restrictions.

The Brit Awards have been criticised in the past for skewing nominations heavily towards males, but this year almost all the main prizes went to female artists.

Little Mix won the award for the Best British Group, becoming the very first female act to do so.

Singer and poet Arlo Parks took the Breakthrough Artist Award, and the prize for the Best International Group went to American band Haim.

Taylor Swift became the first female winner of the Global Icon Award for what organisers said was “her immense impact on music across the world and incredible repertoire and achievements to date”.

With Future Nostalgia, 25-year-old Dua Lipa, who had won three Brit Awards previously, beat soul singer Celeste, Parks and rapper J Hus – the only male contender – in the Best Album category.

Dua Lipa and J Hus were named Best Female and Male Solo Artist respectively.

“Last time I was up here, in 2018, I said I wanted to see more women on these stages,” Dua Lipa said. “I feel so proud that three years later, we’re seeing that happen, and it really is such an honour to be a part of this wave of women in music.”

She dedicated one of her awards to British nurse Dame Elizabeth Anionwu.

Other winners included Harry Styles, who won the award for Best British Single for