The 2021 Juno Awards have been postponed for the second time. The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place in March, but in December was pushed back to May 16. On Wednesday (April 14), the show was pushed back again to June 6.
The move was made “out of an abundance of caution in response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic,” according to a statement released by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and its partners, including CBC and Insight Productions.
This is the second year in a row that COVID-19 has wreaked havoc with the Junos’ scheduling. The 2020 show was set to be held at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on March 15, 2020 — just as the global impact of COVID-19 was becoming fully evident. The awards and associated events were canceled, making it the first Juno Awards since 1988 to be canceled. The award winners were eventually announced on June 29, 2020, in an online event.
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The Junos’ latest three-week delay echoes a six-week delay in this year’s Grammy Awards. The 63rd annual Grammy Awards were originally slated for Jan. 31, but on Jan. 5, the Recording Academy announced that the show was being pushed back to March 14. The delay was attributed to “the deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles,” where the show was based.
Toronto will be the home base for the 2021 Juno Awards. However, due to the pandemic, the awards will not be hosted in a single large venue. Instead, categories will be presented and televised from a variety of music venues throughout Canada.
This will be the 50th Juno Award ceremony. Canada Post, the Canadian post office, is celebrating the Juno Awards’ golden anniversary with a new commemorative stamp.
The Weeknd is the leading nominee, with six nods, including artist, album, single and songwriter of the year. Jessie Reyez, JP Saxe and Justin Bieber are runners-up with five Juno nominations each.
The show will broadcast throughout Canada on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music and will air globally on CBCMusic.ca/junos.
More information on performers, presenters and Juno Week virtual events will be announced in the coming weeks.