Forth Awards 2026: Emeli Sandé and local heroes

The Forth Awards have come round again, and the 2026 edition kept to its usual script: a sold-out room and a long list of people you've probably never heard of doing things you'd be surprised to know about. The 21st ceremony took place on Thursday 16 October at the Usher Hall, presented by Forth 1, with ten awards handed out over the course of the afternoon. The remit covers Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and Falkirk, so the winners read like a map of the East of Scotland rather than a single city.

The biggest name on the night was Emeli Sandé, who took home the Forth Icon Award. Born in rural Aberdeenshire to a Zambian father and a Cumbrian mother, she studied medicine at the University of Glasgow before turning to music; her debut album, Our Version of Events, spent 66 consecutive weeks in the UK Top 10, beating The Beatles' 62 for Please, Please Me, and went eight times platinum. She has four BRIT Awards, an MBE and sang at both the opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics, and she's touring the UK in 2027 to mark 15 years since that debut. She also performed at the gala, alongside dance sets from Kelly Llorenna, Janice Robinson and Simone Denny, some Dirty Dancing entertainment and a set from Cammy Barnes, before the night closed on Kelly Llorenna's Set You Free.

Barnes himself picked up the Forth Best Artist Award. He's a Fife musician who blends country songwriting with Scottish influences, and he first came to wider attention as a Britain's Got Talent semi-finalist in 2023 before supporting Amy Macdonald on tour; two dates at Glasgow's OVO Hydro are lined up for 2027. He's a Fife College product, having studied Theatre and Electrical at the Kirkcaldy campus from 2013, and he also trained at the Aberdeen City Music School and the National Centre of Excellence in Plockton. Between gigs he runs Barney's Barbershop in Methil and Anstruther.

Some of the other trophies went to names you'll recognise from the local scene. Janice Robinson, the voice and songwriter behind the 1990s number one Dreamer by Livin' Joy, took the Forth Contribution to Music Award after more than 30 years in the business, which includes work with Tina Turner and a 2018 X Factor appearance. The Forth Fringe Award went to Darrell Martin, who set up the Just the Tonic Comedy Club in Nottingham and has booked the likes of Sean Lock, Jo Brand and Rob Beckett over three decades. Luca's Kitchen in Dunfermline, a family pizzeria with an ice cream parlour that opened in the summer of 2019, took the Forth Best Restaurant Award.

The more community-focused awards tell the real story of the night. The Forth Local Hero Award went to Lisa Petrie, who after losing her son John in September 2025 campaigned for knife safety and haemostasis kits and has handed out more than 100 of them across Edinburgh and Midlothian. The Forth Cash for Kids Award went to Rocco Wood, born at 28 weeks with cerebral palsy and requiring 24-hour care, with the money going towards a gaze-controlled communication device and a specialised trike after spinal surgery. Other winners included Matthew Crawford of Beath High School in Cowdenbeath for the Forth Best Teacher Award, L.I.F.T at the Muirhouse Millennium Centre for the Forth Best Workplace Award, and Falkland Palace and Garden in Fife, which took the Forth Visitor Attraction Award despite ongoing works that have left part of the palace inaccessible.