(Reuters) – The MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) show will take place in New York at the end of August, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Monday, marking the first major awards show since the coronavirus pandemic that will take place in a physical venue.
Cuomo, speaking at a press briefing, gave no details but a slide shown on screen said the Aug. 30 VMA show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn would follow all safety guidelines and would have “limited or no audience.”
Award shows feature large numbers of performers, guests, audiences and stage crew and have been relegated to online or prerecorded events since the coronavirus pandemic shut down theatre, music and other live shows in mid-March.
MTV did not immediately respond to a request for comment but said in May that it was exploring with government and medical officials how to put on a live VMA show in Brooklyn in August.
New York City has been the hardest hit area in the United States for coronavirus cases but is now gradually emerging from shutdowns.
The VMAs traditionally feature live performance from music’s biggest stars, is one of the biggest annual events on the awards calendar.
Organizers of the Emmy Awards for television said earlier this month that the ceremony in September would go ahead as planned in Los Angeles but gave no details of how the show would be produced.
(Reporting by Maria Caspani and Jill Serjeant; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
