The 2022 Grammy Awards celebrating Music’s Biggest Night, has officially been postponed.
Variety reports that on Wednesday, the Recording Academy and their television partner sent out a joint statement explaining that this year’s ceremony would be postponed indefinitely in order to keep the “health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience, and hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce their show” as the top priority. Originally set to take place at the end of this month, the Grammys were planning to move forward with an in-person ceremony at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly known as The Staples Center) in Los Angeles, despite the current surge of the Omicron variant spreading across the nation.
In a joint statement from the Recording Academy and CBS, they explain:
“After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th annual Grammy Awards show. 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. 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.”
Though no new date has been set just yet, The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah is still set to host.
Additionally, the 2022 Sundance Film Festival also announced its plans to go all virtual due to the surge. Originally set to move forward with a hybrid format (in-person and virtual), now per a press release sent to The Root, Sundance CEO Joana Vicente and Sundance Film Festival Director Tabitha Jackson explained that the beloved festival will be remote only.
“We believe in the transformative power of artists and their work,” the statement reads in part. “Today, as we navigate all that the pandemic throws at us we go back to what is certain: Gathering together—in whatever way we can—is profound. Community matters. We follow the artist. So, we look forward to sharing with you the extraordinary work that fuels our Festival, experiencing it together, and celebrating the artists who will change the culture.”
To read Sundance Institutes’ full statement, head on over to sundance.org.