A new date for the 2021 Pacific Music Awards has been set considering the recent COVID-19 restrictions.
With Auckland currently in Alert Level 4 and the rest of New Zealand at Level 3, the Pacific Music Awards Trust has decided to postpone the 2021 Pacific Music Awards, which were scheduled for September 1.
Due to the restrictions on gatherings and events at Alert Level 3 and 4, the event is now scheduled for October 8 (subject to Alert Levels).
The format of the rescheduled event will be subject to restrictions at the time, and these will be updated on the Pacific Music Awards website.
Once again, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples is showing its support for the event and artists, by sponsoring the Special Recognition Award.
Deputy Secretary for Regional Partnerships at MPP Tuaopepe Abba Fidow says our wellbeing is displayed and celebrated through our language, culture, identity – and especially our music.
“Supporting the awards, and celebrating our success is another way we positively reinforce our identity as Pacific peoples.”
It is the second year the pandemic has disrupted the awards – last year, the event was pre-recorded due to COVID-19 restrictions and aired as an online presentation this evening.
Speaking earlier in the year, Pacific Music Awards Trust Spokesperson Rev. Mua Strickson-Pua says this year we celebrate the music created and released in 2020.
“With the COVID-19 environment, this was one of our most unique and challenging times we have all experienced, Mua says.
“We are heartened by the immense talent, determination and resilience shown by our Pacific artists.”
In 2004, the Pacific Music Awards Committee (PMAC) was formed to realise a vision and the inaugural Pacific Music Awards debuted at Pasifika Festival in March 2005.
Encouraged by the success of the awards, PMAC set about developing an annual event as a significant highlight of the NZ music industry calendar and later formed a Charitable Trust to organise and host the awards.
The Trust is driven by a simple core objective: to create and manage an event that acknowledges the success of Pacific artists, celebrates and promotes excellence in Pacific music and encourages young Pacific musicians to aspire to a higher level of achievement.
This year, organisers received the largest number of submissions in the history of the awards – a clear sign the Pacific music community and the Aotearoa New Zealand music industry is thriving despite the challenges they face.
Mua adds the Trust is grateful artists can draw from a very rich Pacific history and continue to determine their own pathways forward.