An MTV rep confirmed to Variety last month that the network was working with city officials to hold the VMAs at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on August 30, and said further details would be forthcoming. On Monday morning, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that the show will take place with “limited or no audience,” which is the first advance in the news since that first announcement.
A rep for MTV said full details will be announced “soon.”
Holding any sort of mass public gathering is problematic as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the country, as evidenced by the outraged reaction to a pair of country concerts over the weekend that drew between 1,000 and 2,000 fans who flagrantly disregarded social-distancing norms.
Adding to the controversy, in the weeks since the VMA news originally broke, Barclays Center, which is located in a densely populated part of New York City’s most populous borough, has become a gathering point for Black Lives Matter protests. This adds another layer of both complication and relevance to holding an awards show at the venue.
BET, which is also owned by MTV parent company ViacomCBS, staged its own remarkably well-produced awards show last night; although there was no live audience and the segments were all pre-taped, it showed a flow and an innovation in working within the parameters of social distancing that had not been seen in an event of that scale since the pandemic began.
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“We’re exploring with government officials, the medical community and key stakeholders on how to safely hold the 2020 VMAs at Barclays Center on August 30th,” an MTV spokesperson told Variety late in May. “The health of everyone involved is our number one priority. Additionally, we are working on several contingency plans to bring music’s biggest night to audiences everywhere.”
It would mark a return to the Barclays Center for the VMAs, which were held at the venue in 2013 shortly after its opening. Notable winners from 2019 included video of the year for Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” and artist of the year to Ariana Grande.
While a traditional physical production is the goal, according to one source familiar with the plans, the network is keeping safety top of mind and exploring virtual performances and an audience-free show, among other contingency plans.
MTV sent out save the date notices to top agents and talent reps late in May, indicating the program would move forward in its traditional format. As the industry waits and watches for decisions from top awards franchises like the Academy Awards and the Emmys, MTV owner Viacom has been tinkering with its branded live events.