The ceremony had been scheduled for 31 January in Los Angeles with a live audience and performances. The Recording Academy said it made the decision to postpone the ceremony “after careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners”.

“Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31st simply contains too many risks,” the Recording Academy said in a statement.

The move was announced around the same time the Sundance Film Festival canceled its in-person programming set to begin on 20 January and shifted to an online format.