The Webby Awards—which started in 1996 as the “Oscars” of the Internet—will be staged online next month, not with the star-studded bashes of years past.
The San Francisco-based International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences announced Friday that due to “concerns about traveling heightened by global events,” honorees were reluctant to travel to San Francisco on June 5 for an awards ceremony.
"With our nominees now reflecting a truly global web, we're facing new considerations, especially in light of everything that's going on in the world," said Maya Draisin, the academy’s executive director. "Presenting the awards in San Francisco without all of the nominees present is not true to the spirit of the Webbys, so we decided to bring the Webby Awards to them instead."
The Webby Awards event had been scheduled to take place at Teatro ZinZanni in San Francisco.
