The JUNO Awards to Celebrate 50 Years of Canadian Music

The JUNO Awards will be returning to Toronto for its 50th anniversary, as announced today by The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS). The2021 JUNO Awards and JUNO Week will take place March 22-28, 2021 culminating in The 50th Annual JUNO Awards Broadcast at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday, March 28, 2021, to be aired live on CBC.

"50 years ago Walt Grealis and Stan Klees created the JUNO Awards right here in Toronto and it's an honour to bring Canada's biggest night in music back home to where it all started," said Allan Reid, President & CEO, CARAS / The JUNO Awards and MusiCounts. "This country continues to produce some of the most vibrant artists in the world and we invite you to join us in what will be the greatest national celebration of Canadian music ever."

JUNO Week 2021 returns to Toronto after a decade, with the support of the Province of Ontario and the City of Toronto. This will be the 26th time that Toronto has hosted Canada's most iconic celebration of music, which remained in Toronto for its first 20 years - starting out in 1970 at St. Lawrence Hall, a historic venue that held an intimate 250 people. Since then, the awards show has grown to fill venues of over 15,000 seats and travelled from coast-to-coast, from St. John's, NL, to Vancouver, BC, honouring the best in Canadian musical talent.

"Toronto is proud to host The JUNO Awards for their 50th anniversary," said Mayor John Tory. "As the biggest event in Canadian music, this is a great opportunity for Toronto to welcome The JUNO Awards back home to where it all began 50 years ago and highlight the city's truly diverse yet quintessentially Canadian spirit. We look forward to hosting the best of Canadian music in 2021!"

"Ontario's amazing artists, industry professionals and emerging talent exemplify that we offer the world in one province," said Lisa MacLeod, Ontario's Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. "We're ready to share it with the rest of the country by welcoming the JUNO Awards back to Ontario for their 50th anniversary, which will help drive our $25 billion culture sector and contribute to an overall economic footprint of $71 billion dollars when factoring in tourism, culture and sport."

Toronto, Canada's largest city and one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, is known for its vibrant and ever-evolving music scene. The city has produced some of Canada's most iconic and best-selling artists in the world. Since the JUNO Awards hit the road in 2002, each host city has seen an average of over $10 million in economic impact of the awards broadcast, JUNO Week and surrounding events.

The origins of the JUNO Awards date back to 1970. In that year, Walt Grealis and Stan Klees, publishers of the weekly trade publication, RPM, organized the Gold Leaf Awards, held at the St. Lawrence Hall in Toronto. A year later, the name of the award was changed to honour Pierre Juneau, the first head of the CRTC and responsible for the implementation of the Canadian Content Regulations in 1971.

The 50th annual JUNO Awards and JUNO Week 2021 will be hosted in Toronto, ON from March 22 through 28 with the finale event, The JUNO Awards Broadcast, on March 28 at Scotiabank Arena. The broadcast will be aired live on CBC, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, the free CBC Gem streaming service in Canada and globally at https://www.cbc.ca/music/junos.

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences/L'académie canadienne des arts et des sciences de l'enregistrement (CARAS) is a not-for-profit organization created to preserve and enhance the Canadian music industry and to contribute toward higher artistic and industry standards. 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the JUNO Awards, a national celebration of Canadian music. JUNO Week will take place March 22-28 in Toronto, ON with the live broadcast airing on CBC March 28, 2019 from coast to coast to coast. In honour of 50 years of music, CARAS will be launching exciting initiatives in the host city, and nationally across our country. These events will align with CARAS' mandate that is comprised of four key pillars: Educate through our music education charity MusiCounts programs and initiatives, Develop emerging artists through mentorship and development programs, Celebrate Canadian artists with year-round JUNO Awards showcasing, and Honour music industry icons through the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. For more information on the 50th Annual JUNO Awards or The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) please visit www.junoawards.ca.

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada's trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.

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