Billed as the biggest entertainment event ever held in this country, last night's star-studded awards ceremony was watched live by a television audience of 300 million.

The night belonged to US teen sensation Britney Spears, who carried off a total of four awards (Best Female, Best Pop, Best Breakthrough Artist and Best Song). Perhaps Spears's greatest achievement was in the Best Female category, where she beat Geri Halliwell, Lauryn Hill, Whitney Houston and Madonna for the gong. She also did well in the Best Song category to see off The Backstreet Boys (I Want It That Way), Madonna (Beautiful Stranger), George Michael (As) and TLC (No Scrubs). As expected, Fatboy Slim carried off the Best Dance award, leaving The Chemical Brothers and Jamiroquai in his wake, while US neo-punk rockers The Offspring took the Best Rock award ahead of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Marilyn Manson.

There was disappointment for Latin sensation Ricky Martin in the Best Male category, with actor/rapper Will Smith taking the award in a category that also included George Michael, Sasha and Robbie Williams. The controversial white rapper Eminem surprisingly beat Puff Daddy in the Best Hip-Hop category, while the Backstreet Boys, as expected, took the Best Group award. There were some local winners also, with Boyzone winning the Best Pop award ahead of Backstreet Boys and Ricky Martin, and U2's Bono won a special Free Your Mind award for his work on the Net Aid campaign, which aims to highlight ThirdWorld poverty issues.