Australian Commercial Radio Awards cancelled for 2020
The 32nd Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) will not take place in 2020, with organiser Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) moving the event to 2021.
As COVID-19 swept the globe, accompanied by various lockdown measures and bans on interstate travel and large-scale events, CRA had been looking at conducting the event virtually later in the year.
Tim Blackwell and Kate Ritchie at last year’s ACRAs
Now, however, it believes the awards would be better placed coming back “bigger and better next year”.
Entries were set to be due on 30 June, and new dates have not yet been confirmed. Radio stations, teams and personalities were eligible for entry for work done between 1 April, 2019 and 31 March, 2020 for most categories, and 1 January, 2019 to 31 December, 2019 for others. Mumbrella understands next year’s awards will also recognise work done in 2020/2021, however this won’t result in double the number of awards. More details will be provided to members in time.
CRA CEO Joan Warner said shifting the 32nd ACRAs to 2021 will benefit the industry and allow it to continue to focus on COVID-19 and the recovery of commercial radio stations across the country.
A virtual event, she added, would not have done the awards justice.
“While this news is disappointing, we know radio teams are working as hard as ever in these times to keep Australians informed and entertained, while also navigating the uncertainty of the situation surrounding COVID-19,” she said.
“A move to celebrating the 32nd ACRAs in 2021 will allow their focus to remain where it’s needed and means that we can put our resources behind delivering something very special when we resume the event next year. We look forward to celebrating the hard work and resilience of our members in person in 2021.”
CRA’s conference, Radio Alive, which traditionally precedes the awards, had already been called off for this year.
