Stars arrive in style on the the red carpet at the 2016 BRIT Awards  (2024)

The 2016 BRIT Awards kicked off in typical style on Wednesday night, as the biggest stars of the music and showbiz worlds descended on London's O2 Arena.

Leading the way on the red carpet were the likes of superstar singers and international icons Rihanna, Kylie Minogue and Adele, who was the first winner of the night with the British Female Solo Artist gong.

Rihanna, 28, rocked a beautifully feminine look for the night ahead of her live performance during the show, wowing in a layered and very pretty lilac dress with a low plunging neckline for maximum cleavage-baring.

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The Work hitmaker showed off her svelte yet ample curves in the body-skimming dress, which had an almost seashell-like effect all over it.

Its plunging neckline dropped down from spaghetti straps, allowing her to show off her decolletage and braless chest, and she pulled the look together with her raven dresses worn poker straight in a sharp bob.

She also showed off a pair of barely-there silver heeled sandals and a smattering of Asprey jewellery, covering her heavily tattooed hands and wrists.

Making an scene-stealing appearance was newly-engaged Kylie Minogue, who arrived on the arm of her new fiance Joshua Sasse.

See our full BRIT Awards 2016 coverage as Rihanna, Kylie Minogue and Adele add A-list glamour on the red carpet

The 47-year-old pop icon dazzling in her flirty-cum-gothic inspired black dress, complete with a semi-sheer black and nude corset and a full prom-style skirt in a heavy lace.

She teamed the beautifully-cut piece with a quirky wide-brimmed hat on her golden, curly tresses, and finished the look with a pair of emerald green shoes.

Adele, 27, shunned her usual all-black look for a vivid red flowing gown, complete with a plunging neckline to reveal her ample cleavage.

The superstar singer - who is one of the lead performers on the night, and has been nominated for four awards - looked dramatically fierce in the long, floaty gown, which was constructed with several ruffled layers.

Her blonde-brown choppy bob was coiffed to perfection, and the Hello hitmaker tied the whole glamorous look together with a slick of deep red on her lips to match her attire.

Cheryl Fernandez-Versini opted for a throwback look for the evening, showing off her lovely toned and tanned legs in a lemon yellow corset dress with a mullet hemline.

The 32-year-old seemed to be harking back to her Girls Aloud days in the pop princess number, which showed off her slender frame flawlessly and which she teamed with a silver choker and towering heels.

However, one of the most striking parts of her appearance was the beauty's super-long locks: having recently been rocking a long bob, Cheryl showed she had spent some time at the hair salon with a tumbling set of new and very curly extensions.

Adding some glitz, glamour and fierceness to proceedings, the Little Mix girls descended on the red carpet in a shimmering array of revealing, sultry and eye-poppingly sexy outfits.

It was cleavages on show all-round for the Hair hitmakers, with each and every one of them opting for plunging and daring attire, with Leigh-Anne almost suffering a wardrobe malfunction.

Little Mix made their appearance all the more lovely as they took their mothers along for the night as their plus ones, and their mums couldn't have looked prouder to join their talented girls on the red carpet.

Meanwhile, pop star and Britain's Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon oozed all kinds of sex appeal in her racy ensemble, comprised of a sheer top with a short skirt a slick glitzy jacket.

She showed off a liberal amount of skin in her bodycon number, revealing her endless legs to their best advantage, as she was joined by her handsome partner Azuka Onoye.

The former Mis-Teeq singer ensured she turned heads by adding a funky military style jacket with beautiful gold embroidery, with the structured blazer boasting a long black train for added drama, serving to enhance her long legs.

Charli XCX opted for her signature quirky style for the evening. The Boom Clap hitmaker wowed in a vintage long dress - complete with a flowing train that fell behind her on the red carpet - and an off-shoulder corsted style to show off her trim waistline.

The 23-year-old oozed confidence in her unusual attire, which also included a sheer pale taupe and almost olive green overlay on the wrap-style skirt, giving a look at her legs underneath.

Meanwhile, one of the first to arrive, Laura Whitmore - who was recently romantically linked to Leonardo DiCaprio - looked typically stunning in a spider-web effect LBD that allowed her to flaunt her fantastic pins as she arrived before everyone else, as this year's official red carpet reporter.

She showed off almost every inch of her toned, slender figure in the dazzling garment, which was cut very high on her thighs and finished with a feather-effect skirt.

The body of the fitted dress allowed flashes of her skin to show through the sheer weaved fabric, and her modesty was covered with a textured matte black design over her chest and hips.

Irish star Laura, who is known for hosting the I'm A Celebrity spin-off show and also works for MTV, completed her working look with a chunky black choker around her neck and her blonde mane teased into stylish waves, while wearing a heavy smoky shadow to accentuate her pale blue eyes.

Geri, meanwhile, channelled her inner Scary Spice on the red carpet as she rocked up in a simple but lovely leopard print dress that clung to her trim frame like a glove.

The 43-year-old ex-Spice Girl's notably classy look made her stand out from the crowd, the dress skimming her curves down to her knees. She finished off her eveningwear with a pair of classic pointed patent court shoes in nude, and wore her brunette locks down, tumbling over her shoulders.

Looking drop dead gorgeous and following shortly behind her was Abbey Clancy. The statuesque beauty, 30, stunned in a metallic mini dress that left little of her enviable frame to the imagination.

She almost appeared to be highlighting her super-long legs even more as she teamed the shimmering asymmetric mini with sheer tights and towering strappy heels.

One Direction's Louis Tomlinson, 24, and Liam Payne, 22, were among the first big names to make their entrance - Harry Styles and Niall Horan were not present for the event.

Enjoying some laddish banter as they posed for pictures, larking around as they pretended to grab each other's private parts for some hilarious pictures.

Doing it for the model beauties on the red carpet were Toni Garrn and Lily Donaldson, who flashed perhaps the most amount of leg on the night in a seductive split black dress.

Leonardo DiCaprio's ex-girlfriend Toni, 23, was a sight for sore eyes in her almost entirely sheer black dress that included cut-out details on the front of the shoulders and was completely backless.

While the German model preserved some of her modesty with a pair of black knickers, she opted to go braless, flashing plenty of skin under the glare of the camera flashes.

The floor-length number was covered in shimmering sparkles and featured cut-out detail on the shoulders for an extra flash of skin.

Lily, 29, rivalled her fellow blonde, showing off even more skin as she arrived at the star-studded ceremony. The Brit beauty wowed in a barely-there black dress with a super high split up to her hip to flaunt her endless legs.

The asymmetric dress was also cut in a daring slash across her chest and was held together on the back by a delicate strap.

A pair of towering heels accentuated Lily's pins further and she added a pair of gold hoop earrings to coordinate with the metallic detailing on her frock.

Also in attendance and adding some television star totty to proceedings were the likes of Fearne Cotton, Caroline Flack and Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid.

Black was the order of the day for Fearne, 34, and Caroline, 36, but they each went for completely different styles, with the former in a racy cut-out dress and the latter in a chic cropped jumpsuit.

And 45-year-old Susanna wowed as she flaunted her famous curves in a snug glizy red dress, the hard metal-effect garment showing off her ample cleavage thanks to its vest top-style design.

Fashionista, writer and all-round good girl Alexa Chung proved she never puts a fashion footstep wrong in her elegant velvet mid-length dress with a sweetheart neckline.

The British beauty teamed the ruched dress with black courts and little else, allowing her beauty to shine through on the red carpet, which saw a chaotic mix of styles on the evening.

Stars of the music world including Florence Welch, Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon - joined by his wife Yasmin - and Lana Del Rey were also out in force.

Florence looked sensational in a Calvin Klein Collection ensemble, comprising of a cream silk sheath gown and a faux fur trimmed shawl.

And BRIT nominee Jess Glynne made sure to catch the eye of everyone in the vicinity in her loud and lairy bottle green glittering suit, worn without a top underneath.

The 26-year-old red-headed singer - who is nominated forBreakthrough Act, British Female Solo Artist and British Single of the Year - also wore her famous tresses in an oversized, frizzy curly style, giving her a glamorous disco diva aesthetic.

Elsewhere, Anais Gallagher - the daughter of Oasis rocker Noel - showed off a touch of androgynous style in a lilac suit with flared trousers.

The 16-year-old shunned wearing a typical red carpet dress for her two-piece ensemble, which she teamed with a printed satin blouse in cream and black, while wearing her blonde locks in a similar loose, wavy style to Laura.

Singer Tallia Storm looked lovely in a bold and sharply-cut little black dress, covered in a delicate glitzy embellishment all over in silvers and golds, hinting that it was a Balmain design.

The velvet garment - which included fierce, strong shoulders and long sleeves - gave the 17-year-old an elegant, grown-up look for the BRITs. She also wore her long, waist length golden locks in beautiful, almost beach-like curls.

Following in their wake was rising star Maya Jama, a TV, radio and online presenter who looked the perfect combination of elegant and funky in a figure-hugging black dress with a neon yellow band across the top, allowing her to show off her toned arms and shoulders.

The 21-year-old beauty posed up a storm on the red carpet, having added a stylish pair of strappy red heels to complete her simple but effective look for the evening.

However, it was slightly awkward as TOWIE star Jessica Wright rocked up in exactly the same dress minutes after Maya, along with her brother Mark.

The biggest event of the year in the British music industry's calendar is being hosted for the last time by Ant and Dec, after they revealed last week that they will be stepping down as its presenters: this will be their third time hosting, as they also presented in 2015 and 2001.

But fans will no doubt be expecting their unique brand of giddy and cheeky hosting of the famously raucous show.

The night would see perhaps one of its best musical line-ups in recent years, with homegrown stars Adele, Little Mix, Coldplay, James Bay and Jess Glynne being joined on stage by international hitmakers Rihanna, The Weeknd and Justin Bieber.

Pictures of some of the acts - including Little Mix, Coldplay and James Bay - were revealed earlier on Wednesday, showing them rehearsing ahead of their big live moment.

While there were initially fears that Rihanna, 28, wouldn't be able to perform at the BRITs after cancelling her Grammys performance last Monday at the last minute due to illness, it seems as though the star will be taking to the stage.

It will be the fourth time Rihanna has performed at the BRITs: in 2008 she performed her massive hit Umbrella with The Klaxons, while at the 2011 ceremony viewers were treated to a medley of Only Girl in The World, S&M and What’s My Name.

2012 saw Rihanna’s stunning rendition of We Found Love while the 2016 performance will come ahead of her huge UK stadium tour in June.

Adele, 27, will be hoping for a better performance back on home turf following her Grammys performance, which was marred with technical issues.

It will be the Hello singer's first time performing at the BRITs since 2012, when she roused the audience - and the nation - with a haunting rendition of her mega-hit Someone Like You.

Hot hopeful Adele leads this year's nods with four BRIT nominations. She is also one of the favourites for the BRITs Global Success Award, which is based on international sales success and would mean she could walk away with five awards on the night – something no artist has yet managed in one fell swoop.

Joining Adele with four nominations is James Bay (Best British Male Solo Artist, British Breakthrough Act, British Single and MasterCard British Album of the Year) and Years & Years (British Group, British Breakthrough, British Single and British Artist Video of the Year).

Calvin Harris (British Male Solo Artist, British Single and British Artist Video of the Year) and Jess Glynne (British Female Solo Artist, British Breakthrough Act and British Single) are both nominated for three awards.

While Coldplay, Jamie xx, Mark Ronson, Florence + The Machine, Ed Sheeran and Ellie Goulding have all earned two nominations.

If Coldplay win both their categories (British Group and Album of the Year) they'll become the most successful artist in BRIT history in both Best Album and British Group – they are currently tied with Arctic Monkeys on three wins each in both categories.

One Direction have also earned two nominations for British Group and British Artist Video of the Year for Drag Me Down.

Little Mix meanwhile have picked up their first ever BRIT Award nominations for their video for Black Magic as well as a chance a British Single for the same track.

The BRIT Awards 2016 with MasterCard will be broadcast live on ITV at 8pm.