This year’s Grammy awards has been postponed as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
A statement confirms that the ceremony has been postponed indefinitely with no new date yet announced.
The awards were set to take place on 31 January at the Crypto.com center in Los Angeles and while sporting events have still been taking place there, sources claim that artists and executives have expressed concern over attending this year’s Grammys ceremony.
“The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority,” the statement read. “Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31st simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating music’s biggest night on a future date, which will be announced soon.”
Los Angeles has been seeing a surge in cases along with the rest of the country with a record-breaking number of cases. On 4 January, more than 22,000 people in Los Angeles county tested positive, almost double the previous peak at the start of 2021.
This year’s ceremony was set to be hosted by Trevor Noah with nominations led by Jon Batiste, HER and Justin Bieber. Last year’s awards were also delayed until March.
The postponement follows a string of other shifts within the entertainment industry including a hiatus for Broadway shows including The Music Man (after stars Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster both tested positive for Covid-19) and Mrs Doubtfire and today, this year’s Sundance film festival also announced it was ditching its hybrid physical and digital plans to go fully online later this month, in line with last year.
“Despite the most ambitious protocols, the Omicron variant with its unexpectedly high transmissibility rates is pushing the limits of health safety, travel and other infrastructures across the country,” organizers said in a statement.
This weekend’s Critics Choice awards have also been postponed indefinitely.
