The 32nd Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) will now be celebrated in 2021, with event organiser and industry body Commercial Radio Australia making the decision to pause proceedings for 2020 and bring the event back bigger and better next year.
Celebrating excellence in commercial radio broadcasting across entertainment, news, talk and sport, the ACRAs are awarded in metropolitan, provincial and country categories, with entries coming from commercial radio stations across Australia.
Just six weeks ago CRA said the 32nd annual Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) would go ahead later this year but in a different format to the traditional ceremony as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision to now cancel the ACRAs this year comes after a detailed examination of the possibility of undertaking the event in a virtual format in 2020, in response to Government restrictions on interstate travel and event size as a result of COVID-19. The event was originally scheduled to take place on the Gold Coast in October.
BEST MULTIMEDIA EXECUTION – STATION Fifi, Fev & Byron’s Real Slim Tradie; Fifi Box, Brendan Fevola & Byron Cooke, 101.9 The Fox, Melbourne VIC, Southern Cross Austereo at ACRA’s 2019
CRA chief executive officer Joan Warner said that shifting the 32nd ACRAs to 2021 is a move that will be of benefit to the industry in current circumstances and will allow the focus to remain on navigating COVID-19 impacts and ongoing recovery for commercial radio stations across the country.
“After carefully considering the options available for such a big and complex event, it was determined that a virtual event would not be able to do 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.
“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,” said Warner.
CRA has confirmed there will be one ACRAs event next year with awards to cover two years.
—
Top Photo: 2019 ACRA winners Jonesy and Amanda from WSFM