JUNO Opening Night Awards 2021

Show & Technical Production | Virtual & Hybrid Event Experiences | Creative Strategy & Experience Design

Key Elements: Award Shows | Health & Safety Management | Entertainment Management | Content Creation

For the 2021 JUNO Opening Night Awards, our team endeavoured to create a live awards show that was not only engaging for audiences across Canada, but a meaningful experience for all the nominated artists. We took on the daunting task of coordinating the live announcement of 37 awards with over 185 artist nominees virtually.

We merged our live event experience, with a traditional broadcast scenario and a traditional audiovisual company to produce the 50th anniversary JUNO Opening Night Awards [literally merging and tying them together with endless amounts of cables!]. By bringing together two partners that don't typically work together we found an exciting new way of looking at things and created an experience that's never been done before.

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The Experience

Using what we have known in the live event space and our virtual event expertise, while learning from our partners, we incorporate these new live experiences into the new digital experiences and create this amazing hybrid model - remote and in-person presenters, a broadcast studio, 185 remote nominees, an audience of thousands, and remote performers all Zoomed and streamed together LIVE on CBCmusic.ca.

The program was hosted by Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe from CBC radio's THE BLOCK and the show kicked off with a live chat with 5 nominees from different categories. Throughout the evening we celebrated the JUNO Award's 50th anniversary with a myriad of historical and fun facts and special moments like the CN Tower lighting up 50th gold. We revealed a new statue design [complete with a 7ft replica on set], debuted a new category, announced the 2022 city [Toronto] as well as three new categories that will debut in 2022. We did all of this and presented 37 awards, 2 special award recipients, 6 performances, and a moving in memoriam all in just over 2 hours!

The logistics needed to accomplish this one of a kind award ceremony was astronomical:
- We shot in 3 performance locations - Toronto, Nashville and Montreal,
- Live from our studio at the Globe & Mail Centre in Toronto,
- 8 virtual presenters and 12 virtual stage managers located across Canada,
- Out of our audiovisual warehouse and broadcast truck in Toronto,
- In a second audiovisual warehouse in Calgary for the media centre,
- Not to mention the 185 nominees live from their homes across the globe!
All crew and talent were tested prior to and daily to ensure the utmost safety for everyone - 226 covid rapid antigen tests, 132 PCR tests, 0 cases of COVID!

The infrastructure was staggering as well - 40 concurrent Zoom calls, 66 laptops, 3 in-person stage managers, 12 virtual stage managers, 12 dedicated Zoom technicians and pages and pages of spreadsheets, not to mention the entire broadcast team and equipment we can’t even begin to itemize. We mapped out each nominee's journey down to the second and rehearsed the flow ad nauseam to ensure we did it right.

The result, an energetic, interactive, emotional show that celebrated Canadian talent!
Whizbang Moment[s]

Backstage at the virtual event, things were different. Each award category was a separate Zoom call and nominees were invited to join the show 15 minutes before their award was to be announced. They could watch the program on the call and meet with fellow nominees virtually. Our stage management team would jump into the calls to brief the artists, but ultimately they were left to their own devices. What resulted was an array of beautiful human interactions. The nominees had the chance to connect with their peers - they were each other's fans, and celebrated each other’s mutual success.

In an event that was entirely virtual, we managed to capture the ethereal essence of an in-person catering. It was a moment in time, fleeting, beautiful and human.

NOMINEES

ZOOMED IN LIVE

COVID TESTS FOR CREW & PERFORMERS

YEARS OF

THE JUNO AWARDS CELEBRATED

Katy Venneri

Director, Events & Academy Operations

CARAS | The JUNO Awards

“We made history together. 50 years in the making, a show that, at some points, I didn't think was going to come to life. What we built will be etched in the history books, be looked back at and admired, as we mounted something extraordinary.

The service of this team to the artists camps either first-hand or indirectly through production didn't go unnoticed, it has been noted by several industry executives, artists and nominees, partners and the industry as a whole, that we completely exceeded expectations of the celebration, and it's one they will all remember forever.

The pride felt throughout the JUNO organization and beyond for Canadian music is something worth noting, the media coverage is all positive and we are on the path towards the rebuilding of the music industry. You are all a part of that. When the CARAS team was all asked for their favourite moments of JUNO Week, the comments were endless on how epic the JUNO Opening Night Awards were from the look, the live elements, the performances, the host and the nominee speeches.

On behalf of everyone at CARAS, MusiCounts and all of the nominees, winners and partners, thank you for your time, last minute changes, expertise and passion on this project. It was an absolute pleasure working alongside you all.”