Vancouver will be the next Juno host

[SpongeG]

Vancouver will be the next Juno host

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - It's been a week of parties, concerts and festivals in Calgary, and tonight, Canada's best will be recognized at the Juno Awards.

And efforts are already underway to prepare for when it's Vancouver's turn next year.

Bob Dieth with the 2009 Juno Host Committee says work began about a year and a half ago.

"It's quite a long process to get the bid. We first had to get the city and the province behind it and now we're getting into the nitty gritty of planning our events and attracting corporate sponsorship. It's starting in earnest now," says Dieth.

Vancouver was chosen to host the Juno's in February - beating out several other cities eager for the opportunity.

Dieth says they've already selected some of the venues for the award show, and promises an exciting week for the entire city.

It's only appropriate Vancouver hosts the event, with the likes of Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan, Diana Krall and Nickelback hailing from or based in BC.

Vancouver was last host of the Junos in 1998.

Incidentally, Abbotsford pastor and musician Brian Doerksen has already won a Juno for Best Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year.

A number of Junos were handed out yesterday.

Doerksen's album Holy God was the number one Christian CD in Canada when it was released last March.

He's no stranger to awards.

In 2003, the pastor won the International Award by the Gospel Music Association.

http://www.news1130.com/news/topstory/article.jsp?content=20080406_162233_6060

[excel]

anyone know what venue they might use for the junos? orpheum maybe?

[Nutterbug]

Are the Junos still relevant?

[mr.x]

From a humble birth, awards show grows into glamorous gig
Juno ratings were second highest in history

Eric Volmers, Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday, April 05

The 1971 Junos -- then still commonly known as the Golden Leaf Awards -- attracted 100 people. Award founders Walt Grealis and Stan Klees met all guests at the front door and everyone was fed sandwiches whipped up in the kitchen by Grealis's mother.

Flash forward to 2008, when the Juno Awards descend on Calgary with all the glitz, glamour and subtlety of a Mardi Gras parade. Activities were planned for a straight week, manned by an army of roughly 1,200 volunteers in dozens of venues. Everyone from platinum-selling superstars such as Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion and Michael Buble to hip international buzz acts such as Feist and Tegan and Sara are scheduled to help celebrate.

Juno organizers have adopted a "bigger-is-better" mantra in the past six years. In stark contrast to award shows in the U.S. -- where the Oscars and Grammys face plunging viewership and increased cynicism from insiders -- Canadian music's biggest night has ballooned into a bona fide event.
I hereby publicly retire from handicapping the Juno awards. My old system of predicting the winners, which had me consistently averaging 65 per cent over the years, has plummeted, with just two of my 10 picks last week coming to fruition.

A measly batting average of .200 simply isn't good enough.

"Each year we try to build it beyond the two-hour or three-hour show," says Susanne Boyce, president of creative, content and channels, at CTV Inc. "It's not just getting glitzier. It's been about making it something that isn't just one night and something Canadians can embrace."

In 2002, CTV took over broadcasting the Junos and began using its marketing might and cross-media promotion to build upon what had traditionally been a pleasant but staid Sunday night event on the CBC.

The first step was taking the show on the road to Newfoundland, allowing newspapers throughout the country to run variations of The Rock will be rockin' headlines. It was a shrewd marketing move, and the Junos began travelling to a new city every year, allowing each municipality to inject its own dose of grassroots enthusiasm to the proceedings. The ceremony was held in Edmonton in 2004.

In the meantime, more facets of the CTV empire -- MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic, eTalk, Fashion Television and MTV Canada for instance -- became involved in pumping up the show weeks before it was set to air.

And by all accounts, it seems to have worked. In 2002, the Junos enjoyed a 24-per-cent boost in ratings from the year before. Since then, it has maintained an average of 1.4 million viewers per year. And while critics still complain that the awards are too sales-based and leave out a good chunk of worthwhile Canadian music, even the biggest cynics concede the event has become a rare opportunity for hopelessly modest Canucks to go big and blow their own horn.

This year's Junos ratings were the second highest in their history, only surpassed by the previous high when Shania Twain hosted. By the way, Feist's five wins tied her with the previous record holder for most wins, Loverboy.

"A lot of it isn't to my personal taste," says Michael Barclay, a Canadian rock critic and co-author of the 2001 book Have Not Been the Same: The CanRock Renaissance. "But I think it's important that Canada does have that star system. In the old Junos, producers and everyone would be crossing their fingers hoping Bryan Adams or Anne Murray would deign the Junos with their presence. But now, nobody is pinning all hopes on Nelly (Furtado) showing up. If she doesn't show, 10 more A-list stars will be there. In that sense, I think it's healthy."

[mr.x]

anyone know what venue they might use for the junos? orpheum maybe?

In recent year's, the Junos have been hosted in much larger venues...hockey arenas more specifically, in venues upwards of 10,000 seats.

Last week's event was at Calgary's Saddledome, Vancouver's will be at either GM Place or Pacific Coliseum.

[Yume-sama]

Are the Junos still relevant?

No. But they like to pretend.

There was articles in the local papers talking about, and recruiting, people to stand by the broadcasters and cheer on the "red carpet" as volunteers so it looks good on television.

I don't even know one person who watched it on TV, either.