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This year’s MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) are reportedly changing venues due to coronavirus “safety concerns.”
As reported on Page Six, MTV will no longer hold the award ceremony at the Barclays Center, instead choosing “various outdoor locations” in New York City. The event is due to take place on August 30.
In a statement to Page Six, representatives for Barclays Center and MTV said: “it became clear at this time that outdoor performances with limited or no audience would be more feasible and safer than an indoor event.”
NME has contacted representatives for MTV for comment.
Earlier this year (June 30), it was announced that the VMAs would take place in New York in August, albeit with “limited or no audience” in attendance.
The hosting of this year’s edition of the annual awards ceremony had been uncertain given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but New York Governor Andrew Cuomo confirmed back in June that MTV could go ahead with their plans.
Show producers, alongside Barclays Center management, “have been working closely with state and local officials to implement best practices for everyone involved,” a statement from MTV explained.
“Among the measures all parties involved have aligned on include extensive social distancing procedures, meaningful capacity limitations and the virtualisation of components where possible.”
MTV also confirmed at the time that they intended to feature live performances from across the five boroughs of New York City during the 2020 VMAs to “honour the spirit and resilience” of the city.
Back in June, the BRIT Awards announced that they had pushed their 2021 awards ceremony back as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
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