THE National Awards Ceremony where citizens are recognised for their contribution to Trinidad and Tobago will not take place on Republic Day.
It has been postponed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A release on Tuesday from the Office of the President stated:
The Office of the President (OTP) has taken the decision to postpone the National Awards Ceremony 2020 indefinitely.
The OTP has not yet received the list of persons selected to receive awards this year and this has compromised our ability to host the awards to the usual standard on September 24, 2020.
We are aware that the National Awards Committee extended its deadline for nominations from April 30 to May 29.
Covid-19 has heavily influenced our decision, as it will necessarily shrink the guest list to negligible number; most importantly the awardees will be denied the opportunity to invite their personal guests and those on the Table of Precedence cannot be invited. The usual pomp and circumstance that attends the occasion will be absent and other highlights of the ceremony, the commemorative photographs as well as the cocktail reception, would have to be abandoned.
Our normal venue (NAPA) is also subject to the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 regulations in respect of numbers both on and off the stage and therefore even our slate of entertainers is adversely affected.
In the above premises, the OTP is constrained to defer the National Awards Ceremony 2020 until it can be acceptably and properly presented. It is our hope that it will be before the end of the year.
