Grammy Awards officially postponed; Sundance Film Fest moves in-person events online

The Grammys are officially postponed.

The Jan. 31 ceremony is the latest awards event to fall victim to the COVID-19 pandemic and omicron surge.

In a joint statement, CBS and the Recording Academy said on Wednesday:

“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. 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 2022 live telecast was scheduled at the the Crypto.com Arena (formerly known as the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, with live audience and a host of celebrities in the house. Trevor Noah was slated to return as host for the event, following a similar role at last year’s live/virtual event.

A new date for the awards ceremony has not yet been announced.

The Critics Choice Awards postponed its ceremony Jan. 9 due to similar concerns over the COVID surge. The Palm Springs International Film Festival cancelled its annual awards gala, which was scheduled for Jan. 6.

The Sundance Film Festival on Wednesday announced all of its in-person events would pivot to online. In a statement, festival organizers said, in part: “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. ... While it is a deep loss to not have the in-person experience in Utah, we do not believe it is safe nor feasible to gather thousands of artists, audiences, employees, volunteers, and partners from around the world, for an eleven-day festival while overwhelmed communities are already struggling to provide essential services.”

The film fest will run Jan. 20-30 as planned. More than 80 feature-length films are on the screening lineup.