Barclays Center Will Host VMAs In August, Cuomo Says

BARCLAYS CENTER, BROOKLYN — The MTV Video Music Awards will be held in-person in Brooklyn this August, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.

The governor said Monday that the award show will be held at the Barclays Center on Aug. 30.

The show will go on with a limited audience or no audience, Cuomo said, though he did not give specific details on what the guidelines will be given the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement comes weeks after MTV first said they were considering going ahead with an in-person show at the Barclays Center in May.

The 2020 show will be the first time the VMAs have been held at the Barclays Center since 2013.

The news comes as New York City considers entering Phase Three of its reopening from the coronavirus pandemic in coming days. Like all New York City venues, the Barclays has been shut down from its usual line-up of concerts, sports games and other events since the city began cancelling gatherings to curb the spread of the coronavirus in March.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Cuomo both said Monday that the city is on pace with the estimated July 6 date for the third phase of reopening, though they will rethink whether indoor dining will be included in that phase given coronavirus spikes in other areas of the country.

New York City's coronavirus numbers have fallen steadily and remain well below reopening thresholds. Just 2 percent of city residents tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, de Blasio said.

But those falling numbers in New York City were matched by record-breaking rises in states with less stringent lockdown protocols like Florida and Texas, where clusters have been tied back to bars and restaurants, de Blasio said.