Sky Arts has revealed the winners of its annual Sky Arts Awards 2025.

The awards were announced at a ceremony last night, 16 September, held at the Roundhouse in London hosted by comedian Bill Bailey.

The awards ceremony is available to view on Sky and NOW in the UK.

This year’s Theatre category was won by Barnsley-based LUNG theatre company and arts charity for their musical The Children’s Inquiry.

The Melvyn Bragg Lifetime Achievement Award went to musician and campaigner Sir Bob Geldof, who organised the Live Aid concerts 40 years ago this year. A musical about Live Aid, Just For One Day, is now playing at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London.

The annual Arts Hero Award was won by Diane Carroll, who is assistant manager at arts and events venue Oran Mor in Glasgow.

The Sky Arts Awards champion the best of British and Irish arts and culture, spotlighting creative brilliance across the industry. They remain the only awards that recognise the full breadth of cultural genres with categories including classical music, comedy, dance, film, literature, poetry, opera, popular music, television, theatre and visual arts.

The Sky Arts Awards were previously named the South Bank Sky Arts Awards, and were created by broadcaster and writer Melvyn Bragg, who presented the South Bank Show TV series for 46 years.

Winners of last year’s Sky Arts Awards 2024 included playwright Ryan Calais Cameron (Retrograde, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy) winning the Theatre Award.

Sky Arts Awards 2025 – Full list of winners

Theatre

  • David Byrne – Body of work
  • Jamie Hale – Body of work
  • LUNG – The Children’s Inquiry – WINNER

Classical Music

  • Bold Tendencies – Body of work – WINNER
  • Errollyn Wallen – Body of work
  • Manchester Camerata – Body of work

Comedy

  • Elf Lyons – Horses – WINNER
  • Jen Brister – Body of work
  • Sarah Keyworth – My Eyes Are Up Here

Dance

  • Lost Dog – Ruination
  • Nederlands Dans Theatre and Complicité – Figures in Extinction – WINNER
  • Stopgap Dance Company – Lived Fiction
  • Film
  • Conclave – WINNER
  • KNEECAP
  • Sister Midnight

Literature

  • Alan Hollinghurst – Our Evenings
  • Gwyneth Lewis – Nightshade Mother: A Disentangling
  • Sally Rooney – Intermezzo – WINNER

Opera

  • Garsington Opera – Body of Work
  • Opera North – Simone Boccanegra – WINNER
  • Sound Voice – The Sound Voice Project

Poetry

  • Caleb Femi – The Wickedest – WINNER
  • Janetta Otter-Barry – Body of work
  • Roundhouse – The Roundhouse Poetry Slam

Popular Music

  • Charli xcx – Brat
  • KNEECAP – Fine Art
  • Lola Young – This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway – WINNER

Television

  • Adolescence (Netflix) – WINNER
  • Mr Loverman (BBC)
  • Rivals (Disney+)

Visual Art

  • Barbara Walker – Being Here – WINNER
  • Claudette Johnson – Three Women
  • Michelle Roberts – Body of work, including Red Blue Up

The Times Breakthrough Award

  • Alex Margo Arden (Visual art)
  • Nussaibah Younis (Literature)
  • Owen Cooper (TV) – WINNER

The Melvyn Bragg Lifetime Achievement Award

  • Sir Bob Geldof

Arts Hero Award

  • Diane Carroll, assistant manager at Oran Mor in Glasgow
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Main photo: Sky Arts Awards 2025

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