Nickelodeon postpones 2020 Kids’ Choice Awards due to coronavirus concerns

Nickelodeon’s 2020 Kids’ Choice Awards has joined the ever-expanding list of global entertainment events affected by the new coronavirus, COVID-19 outbreak after officially being postponed.

Though the rapidly-spreading virus wasn’t explicitly named by Nickelodeon, the decision made ultimately suggested it was, citing the “safety and well-being” of all involved with the production, as confirmed by the kids’ TV network in a statement provided the Associated Press (AP) on Wednesday.

Nickelodeon’s statement read: “The Kids’ Choice Awards is being postponed in consideration of the safety and well-being of every person involved with the show, which is our top priority. We will have further information about a new date in the future.”

The highly anticipated awards show was originally set to broadcast live on March 22 at the Forum in Los Angeles, Calif. It was set to be hosted by Grammy Award-winning rapper, Chance the Rapper.

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The news follows a myriad of other delays in the entertainment industry, including the 2020 Juno Awards, music festivals like Coachella, additional concerts and tours — including Pearl Jam‘s long-awaited Gigaton tour — and the worldwide release of No Time to Die, the upcoming 25th James Bond film.

As well as that, a variety of daytime and late-night TV talk shows made the decision to suspend live studio audiences from attending the taping of episodes.

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Among the shows were The Tonight Show, The Late Show and Late Night with Seth Myers;  all announced they would be taking safety precautions amid concerns surrounding the global pandemic on Wednesday.

NBC told AP it was suspending live audiences for the Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers-hosted shows starting March 16, with CBS saying the same of Stephen Colbert‘s show, due to the rapid spread of COVID-19.

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Despite the lack of a studio audience, these popular talk shows will proceed to air as scheduled, with no broadcasts being affected by the new coronavirus.

Return dates for those studio audiences are yet to be decided.

As of this writing, Nickelodeon has not scheduled a new date for the popular awards ceremony.

For additional updates and information, you can visit the official Kids’ Choice Awards website.

— With files from the Associated Press