NAIDOC Awards postponed

The NAIDOC Awards 2021, due to screen tomorrow night on NITV, were were postponed until later in the year due to COVID-19.

The ceremony celebrating the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, was to be hosted Luke Carroll and Shari Sebbens.

“After the cancellation of the National NAIDOC Awards 2021 in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), the National NAIDOC Committee and our key partners had been working towards a gala Awards Ceremony at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday 3 July,” organisers said in a statement.

“However, following the recent announcements by the NSW Premier and increasing health risk, we have had to take the unfortunate decision to postpone this ceremony.”

Partners and key stakeholders agreed the restrictions in NSW would have greatly affected the quality of the Awards.

“We’ll soon regroup with all our key stakeholders to look at a suitable date later in the year for an Awards Ceremony, hopefully well clear of COVID-19 clusters and one that can truly be a stunning NAIDOC Awards evening,” they said.

“It is a timely reminder that Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to be a concern for communities around Australia and we all need keep our mob safe this NAIDOC Week by making sure our events and celebrations are held in a COVIDSafe way.”

NAIDOC Week will still be held from 4-11 July.