The Academy of Country Music has postponed the 2020 ACM Awards due to the coronavirus disease outbreak. The ceremony, originally scheduled for April 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, has been rescheduled to September 2020. Keith Urban, a nominee for Male Artist of the Year, is set to host. The event will still air live on CBS.
“The ACM Awards is a tentpole event for our Country Music industry, and the Academy of Country Music and dick clark productions went to great lengths to find a safe solution for the show to go on so that we can honor our artist community,” ACM CEO Damon Whiteside said in a statement Sunday. “This decision involved many partners, stakeholders and the industry who we have been in constant conversations with over the past several days as the situation has developed. We look forward to identifying a future date that we can celebrate with our Country community safely.”
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Refunds will be available for the ACM Awards and ACM Party for a Cause events, including the ACM Lifting Lives Topgolf Tee-Off and ACM Beach Bash. More information on refunds will be shared at a later date on the ACM website and social media accounts.
The ACM Awards is just the latest ceremony and entertainment event disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak. Last week, Nickelodeon announced the 2020 Kids’ Choice Awards will be delayed. The show was originally scheduled for March 22 in Los Angeles.
GLAAD also announced its 31st annual GLAAD Media Awards event on March 19 was canceled. The gala was set to take place in New York, with Ryan Murphy and Judith Light receiving honorary awards. Lilly Singh was set to host, with Adam Lambert and Ben Platt performing.
“Given GLAAD’s long-standing commitment to the safety of our members, sponsors, and guests, the GLAAD Media Awards will no longer take place on March 19th in New York City,” Rich Ferraro, chief communications officer and an executive producer of the GLAAD Media Awards, said in a statement last week. “The team at GLAAD has been in communication with the City of New York and is following the latest recommendations from Governor Cuomo.”
“We were planning to unveil a historic get-out-the-vote campaign at the event because everything is at stake for LGBTQ Americans this election year, and are hopeful that the program and GLAAD’s ongoing work to fight against anti-LGBTQ discrimination will continue to be supported and funded,” Ferraro continued. “Since the event is canceled, our advocacy work will experience a loss of funding and we encourage community members and allies to consider becoming a GLAAD member to ensure this work continues.”
This year’s most-nominated artists at the ACM Awards are Blake Shelton, Old Dominion and Thomas Rhett, with four each. Rhett, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs and Eric Church are the nominees for Entertainer of the Year. Urban, Dierks Bentley, Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton and Rhett are up for Male Artist of the Year, while Kelsea Ballerini, Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris and Kacey Musgraves were nominated for Female Artist of the Year.
As of Sunday afternoon, there are more than 162,000 total coronavirus cases confirmed worldwide. The number of confirmed cases passed 3,000 in the U.S., and there are 57 confirmed deaths, reports U.S. News.
Photo credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for ACM
