Grammys Postponed! Super Bowl Location In Doubt? Golden Globes Dead?!?

Omicron is wreaking havoc on the entertainment industry. Movie studios are considering moving their film slate release dates once again and now award shows are being postponed!

“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,” CBS and the Recording Academy announced in a joint statement. “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 show was scheduled to take place at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly The Staples Center) in Los Angeles with “The Daily Show’s” Trevor Noah as host once again.

Last year’s Grammy Awards were postponed from January to March, also due to the pandemic and a surge in Covid-19 cases. The show ultimately took place, largely outside, at the Los Angeles Convention Center with a smaller in-person audience.

Now from one award show being postponed to another pretty much DOA. The Golden Globes which will not be aired on television this year failed to attract any celebrity presenters.

“The Golden Globes will move forward with a small event on January 9th that will not only award the best performances in television and film for 2021, but also on recognizing the importance of supporting diverse creatives across the industry,” the letter reads. “The event this year will celebrate and honor a variety of diverse, community-based programs that empower inclusive filmmakers and journalists to pursue their storytelling passions. The HFPA has financially supported important underserved organizations for decades and will continue to invest in the future leaders of our industry.”

The HFPA has yet to announce its official plans for the Jan. 9 ceremony. NBC canceled the annual telecast this year after the HFPA came under fire for lack of diversity among its membership and unethical business practices. Since then, 21 new members have been added to help diversify the organization and new bylaws have been passed.

Finally, Omicron is now putting the location of the upcoming Super Bowl in question.

The NFL is exploring contingencies if COVID-19 restrictions in the Los Angeles area appear they will be too onerous to hold the Super Bowl.

WFAA, citing a Dallas Cowboys front-office source, reports the league has had “preliminary discussions” about moving the Big Game from SoFi Stadium to AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy confirmed to WFAA that the contingency has been explored, though he mentioned it’s not an unusual exercise.

“We plan on playing Super Bowl LVI as scheduled at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 13,” McCarthy said. “As part of our standard contingency planning process that we conduct for all regular and postseason games, we have contacted several clubs to inquire about stadium availability in the event we cannot play the Super Bowl as scheduled due to weather-related issues or unforeseen circumstances. Our planning process for the Super Bowl in Los Angeles is ahead of schedule and we look forward to hosting the Super Bowl there to culminate another fantastic NFL season for our fans and clubs.”

Right now, Los Angeles County does not have COVID-19 restrictions which would preclude the Super Bowl from being played in a full stadium. SoFi Stadium had over 70,000 fans for Chargers vs. Broncos this past week.

However, with cases escalating in the region amid the Omicron variant outbreak, it is unknown whether Los Angeles County and/or the state of California might revert to stricter early pandemic restrictions.

It seems like COVID-19 will once again have the entertainment world walking on eggshells going into 2022 and beyond…