The Barclaycard Mercury Prize ‘2010 Albums of the Year’ will be revealed at 11.30am on Tuesday 20 July 2010. The announcement will be made by presenter and broadcaster Lauren Laverne and will be hosted by The Hospital Club in Covent Garden.
The Prize recognises and celebrates music in the UK and has a reputation for highlighting both new talent and more established bands and artists. Albums released between July 2009 and July 2010 are eligible for this year’s Prize.
The shortlist of 12 ‘Albums of the Year’ is chosen by an independent judging panel, which includes musicians, producers, presenters and music journalists. The panel’s decision is based solely on the music on the albums rather than on commercial sales success and all genres of music are treated equally.
Lauren Laverne said: “It’s a fantastically exciting time for UK music, which means the 2010 Prize should be a real cracker. There have been loads of great albums released over the last year, so it’ll be fascinating to see who makes the final shortlist of twelve. I can’t wait to reveal the line-up to the nation in July.”
The overall winner of the 2010 Prize will be decided and announced at the Barclaycard Mercury Prize Awards Show, which will be broadcast live on BBC Two on Tuesday 7 September 2010. Lauren Laverne will present the programme, with the Awards Show event itself hosted by Jools Holland.
