In a turn of events that is ultimately unsurprising, the 2020 Ivor Novello Awards Ceremony has been cancelled. Traditionally taking place in May, social distancing measures had forced The Ivors Academy to announce back in March that they would be delaying the presentation of their awards at London’s Grosvenor House until September of this year. However in a statement released on the academy’s website today, the decision was revealed to cancel the ceremony altogether since the “the ongoing restrictions on events and social distancing requirements” had rendered it “impossible to go ahead with the rescheduled event date”.
The date in question had been the 2nd of September, and whilst the physical ceremony itself will not be taking place, the academy confirmed that recipients of this year’s awards would still be announced on that date. Nominees will be made public on the 20th of July, with further information regarding the award day arriving “in due course”. Refunds for ticket-holders are readily available, tickets for September’s cancelled event will remain valid for May 2021’s award ceremony, which will also be hosted at Grosvenor House.
Announcement on #TheIvors 2020:
The winners of Ivor Novello Awards will still be announced on 2 September, however the planned Grosvenor House London ceremony will no longer take place.
Find out more >> https://t.co/AFsmND65wK
— The Ivors Academy (@IvorsAcademy) June 29, 2020
CEO Graham Davies and Chair of The Ivors Academy Crispin Hunt had this to say: “As a community of music creators, The Ivors Academy has presented awards continuously for 64 years and 2020 will be no different. Lockdown proved how important music is to our lives and how fragile the live music industry is. Now, more than ever, songwriting and composing should be championed and celebrated to keep music alive. Our heartfelt thanks to Apple Music, PRS for Music and Grosvenor House London for their continued support.”
Since 1956, The Ivor Novello Awards has aimed to recognise and reward the work of British and Irish songwriters, and remains the only award ceremony in the musical calendar that is not influenced by publishers and record companies, but judged and presented by the writing community. The Ivor Novello’s sister ceremony The Ivors Composer Awards similarly merits creative excellence in classical music, jazz, and sound art. At time of writing, The Ivors Composer Awards are still set to take place on the 1st of December at the British Museum.
