The Radio Academy has today announced that the next Audio and Radio Industry Awards will take place in the slightly later month of May in 2021.
The move has been made in order to shift the awards’ eligibility window to end on 31 December, and to allow members more time in 2020 to prepare their entries.
The eligibility window will pick up where last year’s left off, meaning that content broadcast from 1 Oct 2019 all the way through to 31 Dec 2020 can be included.
Entries will open on 4 January 2021 for five weeks, and Nominations will be announced in late March.
An awards ceremony will then be held in May 2021, which will be delivered either virtually or physically, as appropriate at the time.
Chair of ARIAS Judges, Phil Riley, said: “These small changes will re-align our awards with the calendar year, so winners can truly say they have the best show of the year. It also moves judging to spring, taking the pressure off our tireless volunteer judges in the run up to Christmas.”
CEO and Deputy Chair of The Radio Academy, John Dash, said: “The 2020 ARIAS went so well, and it’s absolutely our plan to build on that success in May 2021. We will of course respond to the climate we find ourselves in at the time, but radio has gone from strength to strength during lockdown, and we have so much to be proud of.”