Photo credit: Bill Couch / CC by 2.0
Will the Grammys be postponed due to Omicron concerns? The Recording Academy is evaluating its options.
According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, organizers of the Grammy Awards are considering postponing the Jan.31 event due to the spread of the Omicron variant. Quoting a person familiar with the matter, the report indicates that the Recording Academy did not decide to postpone Monday morning (January 3). This would be the second year that the “biggest musical night” has been postponed due to COVID-19.
The 2021 Grammys aired in mid-March, which might happen once more if the 2022 Grammys are postponed.
The awards show also adopted a new venue for lean public tickets, moving from the Crypto.com Arena to the Los Angeles Convention Center. If the Grammy Awards are postponed, that will likely affect the MusiCares gala and the Clive Davis / Recording Academy pre-Grammy gala as well – two teaser events before the main show.
The potential Grammys postponement highlights that entertainment is not getting the most anticipated roaring comeback in 2022. Many Broadway show dates and New Years events have also been canceled or postponed due to the spread of Omicron. “But some major groups that were considering tour dates for this year are now looking to 2023,” reports the Wall Street Journal, citing executives familiar with the matter.
Last month, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which holds the Oscars, announced that its annual Governors Awards gala would be postponed from January 15. No future date for the gala has been specified for the planned evening in honor of Samuel L. Jackson, Danny Glover, Elaine May and Liv Ullman.
“We are taking this step due to the recent increase in COVID cases and out of caution to ensure the health and safety of award winners, customers and staff,” the organization said in its statement. The Recording Academy might face a similar decision with the Grammys as cases continue to rise in California.
The California Department of Public Health reported more than 230,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.
That’s more than double the number of new cases reported in a single day. The 7-day average of daily new cases hit a new high of 45,466 – nearly doubling past data. Officials expect that average to increase by regarding 50,000 as new data comes in. “We believe the peak of this increase is upon us,” Grant Colfax, San Francisco health director, said in a virtual press conference.
