There are awards ceremonies, and then there are awards ceremonies where the red carpet is packed with some of the biggest names in the adult industry, the dresses get progressively more outrageous and somebody inevitably ends up having a minor teleprompter crisis. The 2026 XMA Awards had all of that.
Held in Amsterdam on September 13th, the XMA Europe Awards brought together performers, creators, directors, platforms and industry names from across Europe for one seriously glamorous night. And taking centre stage were two women who knew exactly how to handle it: Amirah Adara and Ella Hughes, who were announced as the hosts of this year’s ceremony. And yes, there was plenty of British talent in the room too…
Meet the 2026 XMA Awards Hosts
Amirah Adara
International star Amirah Adara was one half of this year’s hosting duo, bringing plenty of experience to the XMA stage.
The Budapest-born performer has a particularly strong connection with the awards, having previously won Female Performer of the Year at the very first XBIZ Europa Awards in 2018. She was also nominated again in the same category for 2026, alongside nominations across a number of scene categories. So, rather than simply handing out trophies, Amirah was very much hosting from a position of knowing what it’s like to be on the other side of the envelope. And she didn’t leave her competitive side at home either.
Amirah was part of the winning cast for Best Sex Scene – Feature, taking the award alongside Catherine Knight and Xander Corvus for Clash of the Vikings. She also won Best Sex Scene – Orgy/Group (Female-Led) alongside Max Dior, Michael Fly and Deny Lou. Not a bad way to spend an evening.
Ella Hughes
Joining Amirah was Britain’s own Ella Hughes, who brought some very familiar British energy to the Amsterdam stage.
Ella has been a regular name at international adult industry events for years and has previous XMA wins under her belt. In 2026 she returned to the nominations with two nods:
Best Sex Scene – Vignette for Pervy, Pranky, Portable Gloryhole with Danny D
Best Sex Scene – Orgy/Group (Mixed) for Knockout Babes Fuck Two Cops on Duty
And the second one turned into a win. Ella, alongside Agatha Vega, Terry Banks and Shadow Dimitri, took home Best Sex Scene – Orgy/Group (Mixed). So Ella wasn’t just presenting the trophies. She was picking one up herself.
The British Stars Making Their Mark
The 2026 nominations featured plenty of British talent, with some familiar names appearing across the movie, performer and creator categories.
Keiran Lee
If there was one British name who absolutely wasn’t leaving Amsterdam empty-handed, it was Keiran Lee. Keiran was nominated for Male Performer of the Year and appeared in multiple scene nominations, including Clea’s Classy Penthouse Fuck alongside Clea Gaultier.
The big moment came when he and Clea took the trophy for Best Sex Scene – All-Sex. And Keiran was very much part of the evening beyond his nomination too, taking to the stage to present the final performer award of the night.
Catherine Knight
Another huge British success story from the evening was Catherine Knight, who arrived with a staggering nine nominations, including Female Performer of the Year and Female Creator of the Year. She went on to win Female Performer of the Year, beating a seriously strong field.
Catherine also picked up the Best Sex Scene – Feature award with Amirah Adara and Xander Corvus for Clash of the Vikings. Two trophies in one night? Wow!
Lily Phillips
Lily Phillips was another British name appearing on the XMA Awards nominations list. She was nominated for Best Sex Scene – Vignette alongside Marco Bull for Insatiable Lily Can’t Resist His Massive Cock. And this time, the nomination turned into gold.
Lily and Marco took home the award for Best Sex Scene – Vignette, giving the British contingent another win to celebrate in Amsterdam.
Danny D
British performer and director Danny D also featured prominently throughout the nominations. He received a nomination for Director of the Year – Individual Work for Clash of the Vikings, as well as scene nominations including Pervy, Pranky, Portable Gloryhole with Ella Hughes and #GRWM (To Fuck) with Catherine Knight.
While Danny didn’t take home one of the main individual trophies this time, he was certainly part of the British contingent making plenty of noise at the ceremony.
British performer Zoe Grey was also among the 2026 nominees, receiving a nomination for MILF Performer of the Year. The award ultimately went to Shalina Devine, but Zoe’s nomination put another British name firmly into one of the evening’s headline performer categories.
And Then There Was Babestation…
Of course, we can’t talk about the British contingent at the XMA Europe Awards without mentioning Babestation online.
Babestation was nominated for Cam Site of the Year, alongside some of the biggest cam platforms in Europe and beyond. The trophy didn’t come home with us, but simply making the shortlist put Babestation alongside some serious names in the European cam world. And with the Babestation crew out in Amsterdam for the event, there was definitely no shortage of British representation on that red carpet.
A Very British Night in Amsterdam
From Ella Hughes hosting the whole thing to Catherine Knight taking home two trophies, Lily Phillips winning her category and Keiran Lee adding another XMA to his collection, British talent was impossible to miss at the 2026 XMA Awards. And while the trophies are obviously the headline, that’s what makes events like the XMAs so much fun. You’ve got performers, creators, cam stars, directors and platforms all thrown into the same room, dressed to the nines and celebrating an industry that rarely does anything quietly.
Throw in a red carpet, a few champagne-fuelled speeches and you’ve got yourself a very XMA night indeed.
Congratulations to all the nominees, winners and everyone who made it to Amsterdam. And from all of us at Babestation: we’ll see you at the next one.
