2022 Grammys ceremony postponed due to Omicron

The 2022 Grammy Awards ceremony, originally scheduled for January 31, has been postponed, the Recording Academy and CBS announced today.

The event has been rescheduled due to “the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant” of the coronavirus, the Recording Academy and CBS commented in a joint statement. A new date has yet to be been announced.

Los Angeles has been seeing a surge in cases along with the rest of the country with a record-breaking number of cases. On 4 January, more than 22,000 people in Los Angeles county tested positive.

Last year’s Grammys were also postponed as a result of the ongoing pandemic. Trevor Noah was recently announced as the host of the 2022 Grammys, which would mark his second consecutive year helming the ceremony. The 2022 show had been scheduled to take place at Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, with a live broadcast on CBS.

The Recording Academy announced its list of 2022 Grammy nominations last November, with Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish both earning seven nods. Doja Cat, Justin Bieber, and H.E.R. all received eight, while Jon Batiste nabbed the most nominations at 11.

A statement from the Recording Academy® and CBS reads:

"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," the statement continues. "Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31 simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating Music's Biggest Night® on a future date, which will be announced soon."

The postponement follows a string of other shifts within the entertainment industry including a hiatus for Broadway shows including The Music Man (after stars Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster both tested positive for Covid-19) and Mrs Doubtfire. This year’s Sundance film festival also announced it was ditching its hybrid physical and digital plans to go fully online later this month, the same as last year.

“Despite the most ambitious protocols, the Omicron variant with its unexpectedly high transmissibility rates is pushing the limits of health safety, travel and other infrastructures across the country,” Sundance organisers said in a statement.