The 64th Grammy Awards, which were originally scheduled to take place Jan. 31 in Los Angeles, are moving to April 3 in Las Vegas.
The Recording Academy announced Tuesday that the show, hosted by Trevor Noah, will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“We are excited to take the Grammys to Las Vegas for the very first time, and to put on a world-class show,” CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said, in a release.
The Grammys announced on Jan. 5 that this year’s show, set for Crypto.com Arena, was being postponed because of “too many risks” due to the COVID-19 variant Omicron.
“From the moment we announced the postponement of the original show date, we have been inundated with heartfelt messages of support and solidarity from the artist community,” said Mason. “We are humbled by their generosity and grateful for their unwavering commitment to the Grammy Awards.”
The move to Las Vegas was expected since the Crypto.com Arena has few available dates. (On April 3 it is hosting an afternoon Lakers game and an evening Clippers game.) The MGM Grand Garden Arena has nothing booked after between March 11 and June 17.
The Grammys have been staged in either Los Angeles or New York City since 1974. Before that, it was held in these cities as well as Chicago and Nashville.
Nominations for this year's Grammys were announced in November. Canada’s Justin Bieber, who is among the leading nominees, has a break from his Justice World Tour on April 2 and 3.
Last year’s Grammys show was scheduled for Jan. 31 at what is now Crypto.com Arena but, with weeks to go, the show was scaled down and moved to March 14 at the Los Angeles Convention Center due to COVID-19.