by Thinus Ferreira
ViacomCBS's MTV says that its 2021 MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) will go ahead in Budapest, Hungary this year on 14 November to counter the country's draconian anti-gay laws and "to fight for equality for all".
The 2021 MTV Europe Awards will take place in the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna in Hungary on 14 November and will be broadcast on MTV channels worldwide including in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service.
The MTV Europe Music Awards was supposed to have taken place in Hungary last year but ended up being done as a virtual event because of the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic.
Now the EMAs in Hungary is back on, however since then the government in that country has passed oppressive anti-gay legislation that bans any LGBTQ+ content from being shown on television and with TV programmes that are not allowed to feature or include any gay people during daytime or primetime if viewers under the age of 18 might be watching.
Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of MTV Entertainment Group Worldwide, who is gay, on Tuesday said that MTV will use the opportunity of the 2021 MTV Europe Music Awards "to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community in Hungary and around the world as we continue to fight for equality for all".
MTV says that this year's EMAs will be "a global celebration of music for all audiences around the world" with the channel that today revealed that it has expanded its partnership with All Out and will amplify the group's campaigns throughout the year.
Next month's EMAs will now specifically recognise LGBTQ+ activists in Hungary and around the world through the 2021 MTV Generation Change Award that is being done in partnership with the All Out advocacy group.
"Let me be clear, it's been widely reported that if enforced as written, the law [in Hungary] could impact mainstream content like Modern Family and Friends, movies like Harry Potter, Star Trek and others," Chris McCarthy says.
"As a result, ViacomCBS, along with others like Google and Lego, banded together to publicly oppose this law stating it would increase discrimination and harassment against LGBTQ+ people."
"I have to be honest with you, as a gay man, my personal emotions got the better of me. After learning this legislation passed, my knee jerk reaction was that we should move the event to another country."
"However, after my emotions cooled down, I picked up the phone to connect with global LGBTQ+ advocates like All Out, got feedback from LGBTQ+ advocates in Hungary, spoke with other team members from around the world and consulted our LGBTQ+ employee resource group, Emerge."
"It was the 1990s, and I'd never met another gay person before. My only lifeline was television. It gave me a direct window into a new world, one that gave me hope that I wasn't alone," says Chris McCarthy.
"To all those kids at home: there is hope, and you will always have a home with us on MTV Entertainment."
"Growing up gay in a working-class community, being able to see out role models on TV like Pedro Zamora from The Real World provided a literal lifeline for me and inspired a sense of hope and possibility to be the full person I was meant to be."
"That is why I am so proud to work at ViacomCBS, which has always championed equality for all, and why I’m so honoured to stand in solidarity with my LGBTQ+ siblings as we celebrate the 2021 MTV EMAs from Hungary."
Raffaele Annecchino, president and CEO of ViacomCBS Networks International, says "With a global footprint spanning 180 countries and countless cultures, the 2021 MTV EMAs will be an incredible moment for every member of our audience to come together to celebrate music and the power it has to transcend borders".
"After such a long period, I couldn’t be happier for the EMAs to land in Budapest for what's sure to be an extraordinary night that will resonate globally."
