Chris Campbell, Director of Culture and Entertainment Tourism at Tourism London, announces London will host the 2019 Junos, January 29, 2018. (Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)Chris Campbell, Director of Culture and Entertainment Tourism at Tourism London, announces London will host the 2019 Junos, January 29, 2018. (Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)
London

London To Host 2019 Juno Awards

The best in Canadian music will be honoured in London at the 2019 Juno Awards.

Tourism London officials announced on Monday that London will host the 48th annual edition of the awards show on March 17, 2019 at Budweiser Gardens.

Speaking at a news conference at London Music Hall, Tourism London's Director of Culture and Entertainment Chris Campbell stressed the awards show is a chance for London to "showcase our hospitality, our culture, and our growing music scene."

In addition to the Junos, the city will also play host to Juno Week 2019 festivities at various venues from March 11-17, 2019. Among the events will be a celebrity hockey game, Juno Fan Fare where artists gather to sign autographs and pose for pictures, and a gala dinner.

Campbell said while he is sure all hotels in the city will be at capacity, it isn't known exactly how many people the Junos will draw to London.

"The sky is the limit when you are putting a national spotlight on London and you have to consider the proximity to Toronto, the popularity of Canadian music internationally," said Campbell. "If you watched the Grammys last night you know how popular Canadian music is and so we are going to be drawing industry people and fans from all over the continent ."

This is the first time the Junos have come to southwestern Ontario since the award show began travelling outside of Toronto in 2002.

"When you come to a city for the very first time, there is magic," said Junos President and CEO Allan Reid. "It's excitement when you come to a new community and you see people getting engaged. Not just the music community but businesses. There are signs up 'welcome Junos,' there is an energy that takes over the whole community."

London launched its bid for the Junos last fall, a year after hosting the Canadian Country Music Awards. Now that it has officially been announced as the successful city, London will have to pay a one-time bid fee of $1.7-million. While Tourism London tapped the province and other funding sources to cover the bulk of the fee, taxpayers are on the hook for $500,000.

"From my perspective, this is an incredible return on investment," said Mayor Matt Brown. "We know that revenues generated, economic impact will be $10-million plus in our community, that's the average for the Junos. We also know that there are so many more benefits that are going to come to our community from an arts, culture, even a branding perspective right across the country. This was a really good investment and it is going to pay dividends for our community."

In support of the 2019 Junos coming to London, key music venues in the city, including London Music Hall, Budweiser Gardens, and Centennial Hall will begin donating $1 from every ticket sold to MusiCounts, Canada's music education charity associated with the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

The 2018 Juno Awards will be held on March 25 in Vancouver.

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