Olivia Dean proves she deserves all her flowers with a captivating performance for BRITs Week 26 for War Child
BRITs Week 26 for War Child continued in Manchester last night, with Olivia Dean taking over a beautiful candle-lit Albert Hall… and it was a night we won’t forget.
I don’t need to tell you how utterly brilliant Olivia Dean is.
It’s something I’ve known for years (humble brag), but luckily it seems the entire world has caught on over the past few months.
I’ve been lucky enough to see Olivia five times now, and from watching her joyfully shake here banana-shaped maraca on a small stage at Glastonbury in 2023, to swishing her olive green satin gown at one of the country’s best venues last night – her indisputable talent remains.
The Art of Loving, her sophomore album, came out in September last year and features global hits ‘Man I Need’ and ‘Nice to Each Other’.
The record is a perfect analysis of love in all forms. Her heartfelt yet humoured lyricism explores its constant ups and downs, but perhaps the most prominent theme of love throughout is self-love.
And this is so clear as we watch Olivia beam from ear to ear as she makes her way through a setlist that is a celebration of her entire discography.
Of course, we heard all the fan favourites from the new album including ‘Lady Lady’ and ‘So Easy (To Fall In Love)’, but we were also treated to some of her older songs like ‘Echo’ and ‘UFO’ that initially brought her into the limelight.
A highlight for me was Ladies Bathroom which saw the gigantic disco ball hanging above us kick into gear, which as you can imagine at the gorgeous Albert Hall was a real sight to behold.
The entire evening underlined why smaller, grassroots venues are so bloody brilliant and deserving of our support now more than ever.
No pushing, no overcrowding, we were all there to revel in Olivia’s greatness and we all knew how lucky we were.
This was no doubt a very special show, a complete one-off in aid of BRITs Week 2026 to raise money for War Child, which Olivia joyfully announced that we had raised £270,000 for that night.
It’s no surprise that Olivia Dean is one of the most exciting artists in the world right now, oozing class, charm and impeccable talent.
We’ll be watching with our fingers crossed as she attends the BRIT Awards on Saturday evening with an impressive (and very well deserved) five nominations.
Read more:
- Huge artists announce intimate charity gigs for BRITs Week 26 for War Child
- All the artists announced to perform at the BRIT Awards 2026 in Manchester
- Ozzy Osbourne to be posthumously honoured with BRITs Lifetime Achievement Award
If you’re lucky enough to have tickets to her upcoming tour then just know how much fun you’ll have, but you’ll never have as much fun as Olivia does on that stage.
You can find out more about the remaining War Child performances here.
Featured image – The Manc Group