Hamilton plans 2019 Juno Awards bid with hopes of becoming permanent home

Coat of Arms of Hamilton (Wikimedia Commons, Fair Use)

TORONTO — Hamilton is bidding to host the 2019 Juno Awards with an extra request: it wants to become the permanent home of the coveted Canadian music event.

The city council general issues committee reached an agreement on Wednesday to submit an offer that will be hitched to the belief that Hamilton’s burgeoning arts community offers enough reason for the Junos to stay put.

A spokeswoman for mayor Fred Eisenberger confirmed that even if the Junos don’t agree to those terms, the city wants to host the ceremony for at least three to five years in a row. Questions about how much it was willing to pay were not immediately answered by local representatives.

Hamilton’s city council will make a final vote on the bid at a meeting slated for Oct. 11

Juno organizers have a long history with the city, which most recently held the awards show there in 2015. Before that, the Junos descended on Hamilton five times between 1995 and 2001. Next year’s show will be held in Vancouver.

A host city carries a number of tourism benefits, aside from being prominently featured on the telecast. The Juno Awards are surrounded by roughly a full week of events at local venues, as well as the Juno Cup hockey game and several music education fundraisers.

A statement from Junos head Allan Reid emphasized that other Canadian locales are also vying to become the 2019 host city, and that a decision won’t be forthcoming.

“We currently have interest from multiple cities,” he said.

“A decision on a successful Juno Awards host city bid can be made anywhere between 12 to 18 months out.”