Damien Hirst's infamous polka dot design has been applied to The Brit Award statue ahead of the announcement of 2013's shortlists. Hirst follows in the footprints of Vivienne Westwood and Sir Peter Blake in redesigning the iconic statuette.

Hirst said he is "honoured" to have been asked to contribute the design.

"It has become such an iconic award, I love the Brits," he said. "Damien is truly one of the most important British artists and his reimagining of the statue will make winning a 2013 Brit an even more special proposition," said Brits chairman David Joseph.

Tom Odell, the winner of this year's critics' choice prize, will get his hands on the trophy first when the 2012 winner Emeli Sande hands over the prize at the launch in London's Savoy Hotel tonight.

The actual design would have been light work, considering the pattern is one that has punctuated artwork in a career that reportedly makes him the wealthiest living artist in the world. One particular aspect of the motif, which is not obvious to the naked eye at first, is that each dot is spaced equidistantly from another, making his huge canvases of polka dots seem more of an arduous task than they look. 

Hirst's exhibition at Tate Modern last year was the most popular solo show ever staged at the gallery, attracting around 463,000 visitors, and helping the venue to record numbers through its doors.