Mo Gilligan to “step down and hand over the baton” as BRIT Awards host

27 November, 2023

Mo Gilligan attends The BRIT Awards 2023 at The O2 Arena on February 11, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)

Mo Gilligan has announced he will be “stepping down” as a BRIT Awards host due to his first world tour.

The comedian took to his official social media account to share that due to scheduling conflicts with his first-ever world tour, he will “hand over the baton” and give his usual hosting duties to someone else.

“I’ve had the most incredible time working on The BRITS but unfortunately as I’ll be in the US for my first world tour next spring. I’m sorry to say that I’ll be stepping down from hosting duties for 2024 and handing over the baton,” began his statement on his Instagram stories.

He continued: “It’s been phenomenal to work on this iconic event. I’ve loved getting to know all the remarkable people who run The BRIT Trust and the outstanding BRIT school. The tireless work you do to improve lives through the power of music and the creative arts is sensational and I promise to continue supporting wherever I can.

“Thank you to ITV for making a young man’s dream come true and to all the brilliant performers, guests, production team and most importantly, the viewers at home for all your amazing support. It’s been an honor. See you on tour!”

Gillian also shared one of his tweets from 2011 in which he wrote: “In 2013 I need to host the #MOBO’s or #TheBritAwards *Fingers Crossed*”.

The comedian has served as the awards show presenter for the past two years. Speaking to The Sun, a BRITs spokesperson said: “The BRITs are incredibly proud of Mo hosting the awards for the last two years, he is an exceptional entertainer who is going from strength to strength in his career, and we thank him for delivering two brilliant shows for us.”

They continued: “The live awards show is always evolving, and we are excited to welcome someone new to the helm for 2024, with more details to be announced at a later date.”

Back in September, the date for the BRIT Awards 2024 was revealed. Next year’s ceremony is due to take place on March 2 at The O2 in London. It’ll mark the second consecutive year that the show has aired in a primetime Saturday night slot on ITV1 and ITVX.

Last week, the  BRIT Awards organisers announced that they will be tweaking their rules for the 2024 instalment, following a row over diversity.

According to a new report by BBC News, it has been announced that the organisers of the BRITS will now increase the number of shortlisted artists for the Best Artist award. This sees an expansion from five to 10 nominees for the 2024 edition, in the hopes of creating a more balanced field.

The expanded shortlist will also apply to the Best International Artist category as of next year. As well as broadening the number of nominees, the organisers have also confirmed that they will be introducing a new award category, dedicated solely to the R&B genre.

The post Mo Gilligan to “step down and hand over the baton” as BRIT Awards host appeared first on NME.