Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Cancel Live Induction Ceremony, Plan TV Special Instead
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will not be hosting their annual live ceremony this year to induct the 2020 class of deserving acts, but they do have something else planned as a salute.
Given the current Covid-19 pandemic, organizers had initially hoped the spring induction ceremony could take place later in the year, but they have now decided against staging a live event altogether due to the potential health risk.
“To protect the health and safety of our Inductees, their families, crews and our attendees, we’ve made the decision that the scheduled live event is not possible,” said John Sykes, Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, “Together with HBO and executive producer Joel Gallen, we will still create an exciting program honoring our 2020 inductees, by telling the stories of their incredible contributions to music and impact on a generation of artists that followed them.”
The 2020 Rock Hall induction class includes Nine Inch Nails, T-Rex, the Doobie Brothers, Depeche Mode, Whitney Houston, the Notorious B.I.G. and the Ahmet Ertegun Award honorees Jon Landau and Irving Azoff.
Those wishing to catch the Rock Hall's exclusive special will be able to find it on HBO and to stream on HBO Max beginning Nov. 7 at 8PM ET/PT. Those who purchased tickets for the spring induction ceremony will automatically have refunds issued to their account by Ticketmaster.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum shuttered for a period early in the pandemic, but has recently reopened. The 2020 Inductee Exhibit will debut on Aug. 14.
Meanwhile, organizers have also announced that the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will moved from the spring to the fall as it returns to Cleveland next year.
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