After almost 20 years, Edmonton will once again host Canada's Juno Awards
The 2023 Junos will be held March 12 at Edmonton's Rogers Place
After almost two decades, the Juno Awards will return to Edmonton in 2023, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday.
The 52nd running of the Juno Awards, Canada's largest celebration of music across all genres, will be held at Rogers Place on March 12, 2023, with a week of festivities beginning on March 6.
The academy has been trying for a while to bring the Junos back to the Alberta capital, said academy president Allan Reid.
"This has been worked on for almost six years," he told CBC's Edmonton AM on Tuesday.
"We've been planning with the local host committee to bring the Junos back to Edmonton, and we're absolutely thrilled."
The city last hosted the event in 2004, hosted by singer Alanis Morissette. The big winners that year included Sam Roberts (artist of the year), Nickelback (group of the year and fan choice award), Billy Talent (new group of the year) and Michael Bublé (new artist of the year).
He said they picked Edmonton because of its diverse music scene, noting the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is "one of the best music festivals I've ever been to across this country."
With events like the Juno Songwriters Circle and Juno Fest, local artists will have chances to perform in front of established musicians descending in Edmonton for the ceremony. "We sort of come in and take over all the live music venues in the city," Reid said.
The economic impact for the host city usually ranges between $10 to $12 million, he said. "So it's got a definite benefit financially as well."
Tickets for all the public events held in the city for the awards will be announced this fall.
The 2022 Juno Awards, taking place on May 15 in Toronto, are hosted by Simu Liu, the star of Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and formerly of Kim's Convenience.
Among the Edmontonians nominated for this year's awards are Shawnee Kish, Maria Dunn, Jens Lindemann and Brett Kissel.
This year's show marks its first return to an in-person event following the COVID-19 pandemic. Reid said the 2020 Junos, which would have marked the 50th year of the event in Saskatoon, was among the first major events in Canada to be held online.
The 2022 show is also the first time it will be held outdoors. Reid said they made the decision in order to be able to host a large-scale event in a safe manner.