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The new date, announced by the Recording
Academy and broadcaster CBS in a joint statement, clashes with
the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards ceremony for film and
television.
The organizers said the ceremony to present the highest honors
in the music industry had been delayed after talks with health
experts and musicians.
“After thoughtful conversations with health experts, our host
and artists scheduled to appear, we are rescheduling the 63rd
Annual GRAMMY Awards® to be broadcast Sunday, March 14, 2021,"
the statement said.
"The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, with hospital
services being overwhelmed, ICUs having reached capacity, and
new guidance from state and local governments have all led us to
conclude that postponing our show was the right thing to do," it
added.
The SAG-AFTRA union, which represents actors, journalists and
performers, said it was "extremely disappointed" on the
conflicting date, which it announced last July to give possible
scheduling consideration for other awards shows.
Los Angeles is experiencing a spike in coronavirus deaths and
hospital admissions. Gyms, hair salons and restaurants have been
shut down and residents urged to stay at home as much as
possible.
Beyonce leads nominations for this year's Grammys with nine nods
in a November announcement that was overshadowed by a stunning
snub for Canadian musician The Weeknd.
The Recording Academy had not announced who would be performing
at the show, which is usually a three-hour mixture of live
performances by top international musicians and speeches by
winners.
Organizers of the annual Oscars ceremony last year moved the
2021 presentation to April from late February because of the
pandemic, while this year's Golden Globes ceremony was moved to
Feb. 28 from its usual early January date.
Other major awards shows, including television's Emmys and the
MTV Video Music Awards, went ahead last fall with a mix of live,
pre-recorded and socially distanced appearances by celebrities
but without an audience.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; additional reporting by Bhargav
Acharya; Editing by Franklin Paul and Peter Cooney)
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