SAG Awards bosses are "extremely disappointed" the Grammy Awards have been rescheduled for the same day as their ceremony. SAG-AFTRA - who stage the annual Screen Actors Guild honours, which recognise excellence in TV and film performance - announced last July they would be delaying the 2021 event from their usual January slot to 14 March this year, and so are unimpressed when producers of music's biggest night revealed this week their own ceremony will also be pushed back until that date.
SAG-AFTRA told TV Line in a statement: "We are extremely disappointed to hear of the conflicting date, March 14th, announced today for this year's Grammy Awards telecast. "We announced the same date for the SAG Awards last July with the intent to give the greatest possible scheduling consideration for other awards shows. We expect the same consideration from sister organizations throughout the industry." Awards season typically kicks off in January, with a number of shows taking place between this month and the end of February or beginning of March, but the coronavirus pandemic has seen a number of changes to the schedule.
The first major 2021 ceremony will be the Golden Globes, which won't take place until 28 February. Grammy bosses explained earlier this week they had decided to delay their ceremony - which will be hosted by Trevor Noah - because of the "deteriorating COVID situation" in Los Angeles, where the event takes place. They said in a statement: "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 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. "Nothing is more important than the health and safety of those in our music community and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly on producing the show.
We want to thank all of the talented artists, the staff, our vendors and especially this year's nominees for their understanding, patience and willingness to work with us as we navigate these unprecedented times." The ceremony is also set to go ahead with no in-person audience, and plans are in place to only let presenters and performers on site, with winners likely to accept their awards remotely.-Bang Showbiz