Organisers of the Emmy Awards have notified major nominees that this year’s awards ceremony will hold online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement, which came a day after unveiling the television academy’s 2020 nominations, was expected due to the restrictions imposed since the outbreak of the pandemic which has continued to affect all spheres of daily life.
Organizers said they were forced to make the difficult decision to hold the ceremony online given the circumstances.
“Aside from NOT being able to come together in one place, we also acknowledge that our world is going through a challenging moment in many ways. We’ll be producing an event that is filled with warmth and humanity, which celebrates the power of television to bring us together and to help us shape our world. We’re going to make you look fabulous, we’re exploring the cutting edge of technology to allow us to use good cameras and lighting and look forward to working with you to produce your unique ‘on screen’ moments,” a letter signed by the TV academy’s producers said.
It also disclosed that given the informal theme of the ceremony, nominees could decide what to wear.
“If you want to be in formal wear, we’d love that, but equally if you’re in the UK and it’s 3 a.m., perhaps you want to be in designer pajamas and record from your bed! We want to work with you to style your moments, but want you to guide us on your levels of comfort, where you want to be, who you want to be with, what you want to wear etc,” it said.
The letter assured nominees that organisers would be working closely with them, filming them at home and other locations, to ensure they stand out on the big night.
The 2020 Emmy Awards is scheduled to hold on September 20 and will be the first major awards show in Hollywood since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
