December 13, 2012 9:14

Brit Awards to rest Outstanding Contribution award in 2013

War Child to receive first ever Special Recognition Award

Photo: Press

The Brit Awards have confirmed that they will not hand out the Outstanding Achievement award in 2013, replacing it for one year at least with a Special Recognition award.

War Child, the charity which helps support children living in war-torn countries, will receive the first ever Special Recognition award when the ceremony takes place in 2013. The charity raises lots of money through musical ventures, such as compilation albums and special one-off charity shows, including a 2012 event which saw Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon performing at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.

Speaking about the decision to hand War Child the award, Brits Chairman David Joseph said: “For two decades now, War Child has worked with artists to raise funds and awareness to help children whose lives have been torn apart by war. The Brits are proud to give recognition for their vital work as well as saying thank you to all the artists who have given their time, help and energy to something so important”.

Meanwhile, supporter of the charity Paul McCartney said: “A lot of people say that music cannot change the world… I think it really can make a difference. Music can make people aware, put the issue into focus and shine a spotlight on the bad stuff. It also eats away at the horrors and alleviates some of the pain by raising the money to help these children. I have been supporting War Child since 1995. Their work saves lives. I urge everyone to support War Child”.

As revealed earlier this year, Damien Hirst will design the Brit Award statues for 2013. James Corden will return as host for the third consecutive year when the ceremony returns to the O2 Arena on Wednesday February 20. Set to be Corden's fourth time presenting The Brits in total, he will equal the record held by BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans. The ceremony will be broadcast in the UK on ITV1.

The nominations launch for The Brits will take place on January 10 at The Savoy in London, and will be hosted by BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show host Nick Grimshaw, and highlights from the nominations launch will be hosted on the official Brits YouTube channel directly after the event.

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