The start of a new year usually brings with it the start of awards season, as the great and good from the world of film, television and music gather to celebrate stand-out performances and productions from the year gone by.
But in 2021, things will be a little different.
The Covid-19 crisis has shut down Hollywood alongside film and television studios around the world, bringing many productions to a halt. And the closure of cinemas worldwide has delayed the release of many of 2020's most anticipated films.
Recording artists have also been affected, with many choosing to push back the release of new music amid cancelled tours and festival appearances.
As a result, many of the industries' biggest awards ceremonies have been delayed and adapted to accommodate the effects of the pandemic, as well as ensuring the event will be able to safely take place in light of social distancing measures.
Here is how the biggest ceremonies have been affected ...
MTV VMAs
The MTV Video Music Awards has announced its plans to go on with its August show at New York’s Barclays Centre, forgoing a live audience. The announcement was made on Monday by Governor Andrew Cuomo and MTV, insisting strict social distancing protocols and safety measures would be in place for the show, set to take place on Sunday, August 30.
"The 2020 MTV VMAs will be the first Barclays Centre event since the Covid-19 pandemic reached New York," said Oliver Weisberg, the chief executive of the Barclays Centre and Brooklyn Nets.
It’s likely the ceremony will take place with limited or no audience, and organisers have promised performers from “all five boroughs” of the city.
Brit Awards
The biggest night in UK music will now take place in May. The Brit Awards has postponed its February ceremony by three months, with a new date slotted for Tuesday, May 11. Organisers say they hope the delay will allow the ceremony to take place as usual, with attendees, a live audience and performances.
“We want to make sure that the Brits delivers the outstanding production levels, superstar performances and live excitement that make it the biggest night in music,” said chief executive Geoff Taylor. The awards’ eligibility period will also be amended.
Oscars
The biggest night of awards season will move from its usual slot in February to two months later on Sunday, April 25. Organisers announced the new date earlier this month, alongside the news that the eligibility window for entries would be extended beyond December 31, 2020 to the end of February 2021. It is the fourth time in the award show’s history that it has been delayed; the first due to LA flooding in 1938; in 1968, following the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr; and in 1981 following the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.
Golden Globes
The Golden Globes has pushed its 2021 ceremony back by one month. Usually taking place in January, next year’s event will happen on Sunday, February 28 – the date the Oscars had originally been scheduled for. In March, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced that due to the pandemic, the Golden Globes will consider entries even if they do not first screen in a cinema. Instead, films may be "released first on a television format (eg subscription streaming service, subscription cable channel, broadcast television, etc) and will still be eligible".
Baftas
The Baftas has been delayed from Sunday, February 14 until Sunday, April 11. The ceremony, set to take place in London, has been scheduled in line with the Oscars delay, as it typically takes place two weeks ahead of the Los Angeles event. Like the Oscars, Bafta has also amended its eligibility policy for entries, allowing films with a release date during the pandemic to enter if they have first been released on streaming services.
Marc Samuelson, chair of Bafta's film committee, said: "We have pushed back by two months to give all films the best possible chance to be released and considered properly."
El Gouna Film Festival
Organisers of El Gouna Film Festival have announced new dates for the returning festival. Now in its fourth year, the event has been pushed back a month and will run from Friday, October 23, to Saturday, October 31.
The annual film festival, which takes place in the Egyptian resort city of El Gouna, was originally scheduled to take place in September.
So far, 800 projects in development and in post-production have been submitted and the festival programme is expected to be revealed by the end of September.
“Several film festivals have been impacted by the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic and their return to the scene will send a positive signal that the world is on its way to normalcy,” said Intishal Al Timimi, the festival director.
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
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Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
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The five pillars of Islam
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
Jetour T1 specs
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Wednesday and the pair embraced but he failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice.
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Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
