ARIA Awards Unveil Hosts for Milestone 40th Ceremony
The ARIA Awards have locked in their hosts for 2026.
The ARIA Awards have locked in their hosts for 2026, with a familiar comedy duo set to take the reins for the milestone 40th ceremony.
The Cheap Seats co-hosts Melanie Bracewell and Tim McDonald will lead the 40th annual ceremony at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on Wednesday, November 18th.
Bracewell and McDonald have hosted the Network 10 show together since 2021, with the series winning the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Entertainment Program in 2023 and returning for its sixth season this year.
“Thrilled to host the ARIAs with my friend and colleague Tim McDonald. Hoping they didn’t book us for experience. The last awards ceremony I hosted was a raffle for a meat tray,” Bracewell said.
McDonald added: “Australian music is the best in the world, so we are so excited and honoured to be hosting! I can’t wait to celebrate this music milestone - 40 years of the ARIA Awards, and 24 years since I failed the recorder in grade three.”
Latifa Tee, a triple j presenter and DJ, will also be part of this year’s hosting team, before joining Network 10’s Georgie Tunny and Angela Bishop on the red carpet.
The hosting announcement comes shortly after this year’s nominees were revealed, with Genesis Owusu and Tame Impala leading the field on eight nominations apiece. Ecca Vandal follows with seven nominations, while Baker Boy, BOY SODA, G Flip, Miss Kaninna and Ninajirachi are each up for five awards. DMA’S, Dom Dolla and Troye Sivan have four nominations each.
Reporting from inside the Australian music business since '94.
Owusu and Tame Impala will face off in several of the night’s biggest categories, including Album of the Year and Best Solo Artist, as well as Best Alternative Release, which returns to the ARIAs for the first time since 2016.
The milestone 40th ARIA Awards will see winners crowned across 29 categories, with fans also voting for Best Australian Live Act, Song of the Year, Best Video and Most Popular International Artist.
The ceremony follows this year’s standalone ARIA Hall of Fame event, which saw Gurrumul, Jenny Morris, Kate Ceberano, Spiderbait, The Living End, and Vika & Linda inducted in June.
The 2026 ARIA Awards will stream live on Paramount+ from 5pm (AEDT) on November 18th, before airing on Network 10. Red carpet coverage, hosted by Bishop, Tunny and Tee, will also feature in the broadcast.
From Rolling Stone AU/NZ
