Grammy Awards Move to Las Vegas Site Spurred by 'Too Many Risks' over Omicron in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 2022 Grammy Awards will shift to an April show in Las Vegas after recently postponing the ceremony due to rising COVID-19 cases because the omicron variant.

The awards will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, according to a joint statement released Tuesday from the Recording Academy and CBS. The show postponed its original date on Jan. 31 at the newly renamed Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles after organizers’ determined there were “too many risks” because of the virus’s latest surge.

For the Grammys, it was attempting a back-to-normal show with a live audience, but the decision to postpone the ceremony came after “careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners.”

This is the second consecutive year the Grammys has been rescheduled due to the spread of the coronavirus. Last year, like most major award shows, the Grammys were postponed because of virus concerns.

It was a big night for Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, but the live performances that set the Grammys apart from other awards shows were staged separately with no significant crowds, many of them pre-taped.

The show was moved from late January to mid-March and held with a spare audience made up of mostly nominees and their guests in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center, next door to its usual home, the arena then known as Staples Center.

The multitalented Jon Batiste is the leading nominee for this year’s honors, grabbing 11 nods in a variety of genres including R&B, jazz, American roots music, classical and music video.

Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. are tied for the second-most nominations with eight apiece.

The Grammys’ move has created another shift for upcoming awards shows — the CMT Awards will move from its originally scheduled ceremony date from April 3 to a later date that month.

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