British Group nominations announced

It’s an almighty clash of the titans in the category for British Group with  Blur, Coldplay, Foals, Years & Years and One Direction all vying for the trophy.

Seasoned BRITs veterans Coldplay are nominated in this category for the seventh time in the band’s history. They have already taken home the BRIT Award for British Group three times; in 2001, 2003 and 2012. Their trophy cabinet holds a total of eight BRITs, including those for British Album, Single, Group and Best Live Act. The band will be returning to perform on the night of the awards in February.

Speaking of BRITs veterans, Coldplay are up against another British musical institution in the form of Blur. This award marks their 19th nomination, of which they have won four BRITs, plus their Outstanding Contribution to Music award presented in 2012. Blur last won in this category in 1995 - can they take it home again in 2016?

Also previously nominated in this category are One Direction, who were up for the award in 2013, 2014 and 2015, losing out to Mumford & Sons, Arctic Monkeys and Royal Blood respectively. The band have taken home a total of five BRITs in previous years, including for British Video and Global Success in 2014 and for British Video in 2015, as voted for by the general public.

Following the release of their fourth studio album ‘What Went Down’ in 2015, this year sees Foals first ever BRIT Award nomination. They will also battle it out against one of 2016 most-nominated acts, Years & Years. After losing out to James Bay for 2015’s Critics’ Choice Award, Years & Years are up for four awards this year: British Group, British Breakthrough, British Single and British Video (both for ‘King’).

The BRIT Awards 2016 take place at London’s O2 Arena on 24 February and will be broadcast live on ITV at 8pm GMT. See all the nominations here.