MTV have cancelled this year’s Europe Music Awards (EMAs), which has been running annually since 1994, due to the current devastating conflict in Israel and Gaza.
The conflict between Israel and Gaza has been ongoing for decades, however the latest escalation occurred recently on October 7th, when Hamas, an Islamic Resistance Movement governing the Gaza strip of the Palestinian territories, launched an unprecedented attack on Israel killing 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostages. Israel retaliated by launching air strikes, and as it stands, the United Nations have reported 4,200 deaths in Gaza over the last 10 days.
The MTV EMAs, which were set to be held in Paris on November 5th, have now been cancelled “out of an abundance of caution”, according to a BBC statement from the event’s organisers Paramount.
Paramount describes the annual event as “an annual celebration of global music”, but said as “events in Israel and Gaza continue to unfold, this does not feel like a moment for a global celebration. With thousands of lives already lost, it is a moment of mourning”.
In a social media post from Paramount, the event organisers issued a declaration saying “Given the volatility of world events, we have decided not to move forward with the 2023 MTV EMAs out of an abundance of caution for the thousands of employees, crew members, artists, fans, and partners who travel from all corners of the world to bring the show to life.”
Given the volatility of world events, we have decided not to move forward with the 2023 MTV EMAs out of an abundance of caution for the thousands of employees, crew members, artists, fans, and partners who travel from all corners of the world to bring the show to life.
— MTV EMA (@mtvema) October 19, 2023
MTV announced the list of performers for the awards show previously this week. Acts on the line up include the likes of Anne Marie, David Guetta and Thirty Seconds To Mars, all of which are also 2023 MTV EMA nominees. You can view the full list of performers and nominees here. The EMAs were set to broadcast on MTV in more than 150 countries, as well as stream on Pluto TV and Paramount+.
Paramount have announced that voting for the awards show will continue, and the event will be rescheduled to November 2024 with all the original performers.
Voting is continuing and the winning artists will receive their MTV EMA Awards.
We look forward to hosting the MTV EMAs again in November of 2024.
— MTV EMA (@mtvema) October 19, 2023
