Comedians Melanie Bracewell and Tim McDonald will host the 2026 ARIA Awards, Australia’s biggest night in music, organizers have announced.
The pair — co-hosts of Network 10’s The Cheap Seats — will lead the milestone 40th annual ceremony at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The duo have fronted the comedy panel show together since 2021, winning the Logie Award for most outstanding entertainment program in 2023, and organizers called them a “natural fit” to helm the anniversary edition.
Both leaned into the comedic register in accepting the gig. “Thrilled to host the ARIAs with my friend and colleague Tim McDonald,” Bracewell said. “Hoping they didn’t book us for experience. The last awards ceremony I hosted was a raffle for a meat tray.”
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.” Triple j presenter and DJ Latifa Tee will also join the hosting team before moving to red-carpet duties alongside Network 10’s Georgie Tunny and Angela Bishop.
The announcement follows the reveal of this year’s nominations, led by Genesis Owusu and Tame Impala with eight nods apiece. The two will go head-to-head in several of the night’s biggest categories, including Album of the Year and Best Solo Artist, as well as Best Alternative Release — a category returning to the ARIAs for the first time since 2016. Ecca Vandal follows with seven nominations, while Baker Boy, BOY SODA, G Flip, Miss Kaninna and Ninajirachi each earned five, and Troye Sivan, DMA’S and Dom Dolla are up for four each.
Winners will be crowned across 29 categories on the night, with the public voting for Best Australian Live Act, Song of the Year, Best Video and Most Popular International Artist. The ceremony also caps a year in which ARIA marked its 40th anniversary with a standalone Hall of Fame event in June, inducting Gurrumul, Jenny Morris, Kate Ceberano, Spiderbait, The Living End, and Vika & Linda.
The 2026 ARIA Awards will stream live on Paramount+ from 5 p.m. AEDT on Nov. 18 before airing on Network 10, with red-carpet coverage hosted by Bishop, Tunny and Tee.
