Gold bars worth £750,000 found hidden in a lunch box during a search at Manchester Airport are set to be auctioned off.
The eight ingots were stopped whilst en route to Dubai in 2018 – with the passenger attempting to smuggle them to the United Arab Emirates inside a storage container.
HM Revenue and Customs has now confirmed the bars, which weighed about 16kg, will be auctioned off this week.
The passenger is not set to face criminal prosecution for his role in transporting 24-carat gold.
According to a HMRC spokesperson, investigators had used “new civil proceeds of crime powers for the first time to apply for forfeiture of the bars”.
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Manchester Airport / Wikimedia Commons
Under the 2017 Criminal Finance Act, precious metals such as seized gold can be subjected to forfeiture.
HMRC Fraud Investigation Service assistant director Gill Hilton said the case “should act as a deterrent to criminals looking to trade assets such as precious metals”.
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“If they are the proceeds of crime or intended for unlawful conduct, we now have the powers to take them from criminals.”
According to HMRC, the money raised from the auction, which will take place on Thursday, is set to go directly back into “vital services.”
This will include money towards hospitals, schools and other community support systems.
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Michael Streight, government sales coordinator at Wilsons Auctions said: “Wilsons Auctions is delighted to once again be realising a significant amount of 24ct gold bars on behalf of HMRC through its upcoming Online Luxury Assets Auction.
“Having successfully sold over £1m worth of gold for HMRC in a previous auction, we are proud to continue realising these luxury seized assets, with the money raised ultimately going back into the public purse.”
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Ozzy Osbourne to be posthumously honoured with BRITs Lifetime Achievement Award
Emily Sergeant
Ozzy Osbourne is set to be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 BRITs tomorrow.
The BRIT Awards 2026 with Mastercard has announced that global rock icon Ozzy Osbourne, the celebrated founding member and frontman of Black Sabbath, and pioneering ‘godfather’ of British heavy metal – who sadly passed away last July – will be honoured at this year’s ceremony this weekend (Saturday 28 February).
Ozzy will be honoured with the BRITs Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition and celebration of his ‘inimitable impact and influence’ on music worldwide.
The award will be accepted on Ozzy’s behalf when the BRITs comes to Manchester for the first time ever at Co-op Live.
With over 100 million worldwide album sales achieved over five decades, a legendary catalogue of music – including 19 studio albums, and eight live albums with Black Sabbath, as well as 13 studio albums as a solo artist – Ozzy Osbourne is undoubtedly one of music’s most influential icons of all time.
The many industry accolades awarded to Ozzy across his career include five GRAMMYs, an induction into both the UK Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (both with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist, in separate years), and the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement – and now the BRITs honour is the latest to add to the list.
“Ozzy Osbourne has been a mighty force in modern music,” commented Stacey Tang, who is the Chair of the 2026 BRIT Awards Committee and Co-President of RCA Records at Sony Music UK.
“Possessing an unmistakable voice and unique presence, he reshaped the sound and spirit of rock, inspiring generations of artists who followed. This Lifetime Achievement Award recognises a remarkable legacy built on originality and enduring influence, that continues to connect with fans worldwide.”
The BRIT Awards are coming to Manchester for the first time in its history in 2026 / Credit: ITV / BRITs / Co-op Live
To celebrate Ozzy’s win, an all-star rock tribute performance – that will close the show on the night – will pay homage to him.
A special arrangement of ‘No More Tears’ – the title track from Ozzy’s multi-million selling 1991 album of the same name – has been curated by Sharon Osbourne.
The performance will boast a phenomenal line up of British and international musical talent, featuring musicians that played as part of Ozzy’s band over the years, and fronted by Robbie Williams, who has been invited personally by Sharon to be part of this special moment.
The BRIT Awards 2026 with Mastercard will take place on Saturday 28 February from Manchester’s Co-op Live, and audiences at home can watch on ITV live or stream later on ITVX.
Comedian and actor Jack Whitehall will return to presenting duties in 2026 – his sixth time hosting the show.
Featured Image – John Matthew Smith (via Wikimedia Commons)
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The 2026 BRIT Awards in Manchester – everything you need to know
Danny Jones
It’s nearly time: the 2026 BRIT Awards in Manchester are SO close, and we can barely contain our excitement, so much so that we’ve spent almost as much time trying to decide what we’re going to wear as we have figuring out what time we’re even setting off for Co-op Live.
Heading to the massive indoor arena and our region for the first time ever – this being the first of at least two years the awards will be spending up North – BRITs fever has well and truly gripped the city.
With murals, posters, DJ sets, live gigs and various other events popping up all over 0161, it almost feels like festival season has arrived early.
But with so much going on, it’s hard to keep track of everything, and we intend to soak up every single drop of this huge moment for us Mancs. So, from timings and travel to who’ll be performing throughout the night and more, here’s all the important details you need to know ahead of the 2026 BRIT Awards.
BRITs 2026 guide – all the key info
What time does the BRITs start at Co-op Live and on TV?
This year’s BRIT Awards will air on ITV1 and the ITVX streaming service at 8:15pm, and will also be free to watch online via their official YouTube channel for the first time ever.
It will also be the 13th year running that international viewers will be able to tune into the ceremony via the platform.
As for the pre-show festivities at Co-op Live, presenters Tyler West and Charley Marlowe will be hosting the BRITs 2026: ‘Live From The Red Carpet’ livestream, with the broadcast getting underway from 5:30pm onwards.
While an official arrival time for members of the public is yet to be fully confirmed by the venue, doors to the venue typically open at approximately 6:45pm, and as always, we would advise turning up with plenty of time to spare before the show gets going.
Who is performing at the BRITs this year?
Now, most of you already know that the likes of global pop phenomenon and Co-op Live investor himself, Harry Styles, is playing at this year’s BRITs – not to mention an extra special ‘intimate’ gig at the venue, too – as is fellow singer-songwriting superstar Olivia Dean.
That being said, they have continued to trickle out announcements of other acts joining the live music lineup for the 2026 BRITs, including names such as Wolf Alice, Mark Ronson and more.
For instance, they only just announced that popular London-born artist DJ AG will performing a special pop-up set outside Manchester Piccadilly train station on Friday, 27 February from 4-8pm; he’s also teased that some of the acts on the main bill could very well show their faces…
With all that in mind, in case one or two of them might have slipped by you, here is the full list of everyone confirmed to be performing on the night.
Who else is on the live music lineup in Manchester for BRITs Week ’26?
In case you’ve somehow missed the announcements, another big part of BRITs Week as a whole is the raft of very special intimate gigs happening not just here in Greater Manchester but across the country.
Besides the Foo Fighters announcing their own exclusive small-cap show at the O2 Ritz – with War Child UK also helping give away pairs of tickets – these nights are hosted to raise vital funds for the crucial charity that carries out work all over the world.
Teaming up with the BRIT Awards back in 2016, the pair have been generating money for the cause for over a decade now, and the names playing these War Child gigs have only gotten bigger over time.
Arguably the biggest of them all, British pop icon Robbie Williams also joined the list of performers of War Child x DHL charity gigs late on after the initial announcement, to make the comprehensive lineup of BRIT Awards performers truly unbelievable.
Find out who else is on it and which ones are happening in Manchester HERE.
What other events are happening in the city for the BRIT Awards?
Now, besides the pop-up DJ AG set we’ve already mentioned, there are literally TONNES of other bits going on in and around central Manchester to toast their Co-op Live debut.
From the likes of the partnered BRITs ‘FRINGE LAB’ taking place over at New Century Hall – a one-day musicindustry event and live showcase featuring local names like Nxdia, Chloe Slater and more – there is also an entirely FREE music festival happening at the Printworks for the very first time.
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There’s also the dedicated art trail around the city, put together by Manc creatives like Stanley Chow, Kim Thompson and ‘Oskar with a K’, just to name a few.
Oh, AND you’ve got the official ‘A Microdot Design’ exhibit at Piccadilly by Brian Cannon (the man behind Oasis’ Definitely Maybe and countless other bands’ artwork) as well, which has been curated specifically for this year’s BRIT Awards.
Gosh, we really are being spoiled rotten, aren’t we?
Put simply, there’s quite a lot going on this week and even after the ceremony and afterparties have wrapped up in the early hours of Sunday morning. You can see a more extensive list right HERE.
For those of you heading to Co-op Live to watch the BRIT Awards shows in person, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1:00am on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s also worth noting that anyone with a valid BRITs ticket is granted FREE travel from all zones travelling to and from the venue.
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live. You also get free Bee Network travel with any valid event ticket.
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide on event day, though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
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Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes on the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Afterparties and ‘rumours’
Last but not least, we already know that at leastone of the official BRITs afterparties is happening at Soho House on behalf of Sony, but it’s likely that different labels, promoters, artists, and so on will be hosting others at different locations around Manchester city centre.
We do know from when Northern Quarter hosted the Chanel Métiers d’art fashion show that plenty of A-listers went out to various NQ bars and restaurants in and around the event, so we’d wager on a fair few more doing the same on event weekend – especially any famous Mancs.
Not to make you lose your minds too much, but we’ve also heard talk of some rumoured guests turning up for the ceremony itself, so who knows who you might spot walking around this weekend?
All we’ll say is that if you want to catch a glimpse of any of them, be polite and Swift about it…
1 week to go!
That’s right, move over London, it’s our turn💪
The @BRITs take place in Manchester, at the @thecooplive, next Saturday, the first time it’s moved out of London.
The Manc -
2nd September 2020 
