Northern has reassured rail users that the name change is temporary
(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
The Deansgate train station has had a quirky name change as the city prepares to welcome the UK’s biggest music awards show.
For the first time in its history, the BRIT Awards will be held in Manchester with superstars like Harry Styles, ROSALIA and Mark Ronson set to perform on the night.
Promotional material has been spotted all around Manchester, and today train company, Northern, found their own way to mark the forthcoming occasion.
To celebrate the awards night and one of its nominees, Deansgate railway station has been aptly renamed as Olivia Deansgate.
The move is a clever play on words which references the similarities in the names of the singer, Olivia Dean and the historic Deansgate area of Manchester.
The railway station has been renamed ahead of the big night (Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
The new signage was put up this afternoon. Some baffled rail travellers have voiced their frustration at the stunt on social media. One said: “Seems that @northernassist are currently in the process of renaming ‘Deansgate’ station to Olivia Deansgate.
“A project designed to confuse tourists and those who rely on these signs including PRM. Silly.”
Responding to the post on X, one user said: “We’ve just had to suffer London St Pancake, and next month we’ll probably have London St Patrick’s… Doesn’t really help non English speakers or those with disabilities.”
Responding to the post, Northern confirmed that things will be returned to normal once the BRITs are over, they’re reply read: “I am sorry for any confusion this may cause, this has been done to celebrate the Brit Awards and the signs will change back after.”
Dean is one of the most nominated artists at the BRITs this year. Best known for singles Man I Need, Nice To Each Other and the Sam Fender duet Rein Me In, Olivia was the first artist to be confirmed as a performer for the 2026 BRITs.
She will also play Manchester’s Albert Hall just days beforehand as part of an intimate BRITs Week show.
The BRIT Awards 2026 will take place at Manchester’s Co-op Live on Saturday, February 28.
Olivia Dean (Image: Getty Images for The Recording A)
The show will feature performances from the likes of Harry Styles, Olivia Dean, Sombr, and ROSALIA, HUNTR/X, Wolf Alice, Alex Warren and more.
Thousands will be heading to the event with millions more watching proceedings live on TV, but the festivities will continue before, after and during the show itself with the next week set to contain an abundance of events, takeovers, specials, and pop-ups. Basically, Manchester is going all out.