The highest profile music awards ceremony in the UK, the BRIT Awards have featured some of the most notable events in British popular culture, such as the final public appearance of Freddie Mercury, the Jarvis Cocker protest against Michael Jackson, the height of a high-profile feud between Oasis and fellow Britpop band Blur, the Union Jack dress worn by Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls, and a Chumbawamba member throwing a bucket of iced water over then-Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Mastercard has been the long-term sponsor of the event. In 1989, they were renamed The BRIT Awards. The awards were first held in 1977 and originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI. In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music, called the Classic BRIT Awards, is held in May. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored by Britannia Music Club), but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trusts Show. The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. Exterior of the O 2 Arena in London (host venue since 2011) for the 2020 Brit Awards