Golden Globes ditch red carpet for Sunday ceremony

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- On Tuesday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the format for Sunday's Golden Globe Awards. The 79th annual ceremony will not be televised, and will forego a red carpet for nominees.

As part of COVID-19 safety protocols, the HFPA will not credential media to cover the event. The HFPA will announce the winners at a ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. PST at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The ceremony will have no audience. Everyone attending must be vaccinated against COVID-19 with a booster, and test negative for COVID-19 within 48 hours of the event.

Attendees will maintain social distance and wear masks throughout the event. The ceremony will also include a speech by NAACP Hollywood Bureau Senior Vice President Kyle Bowser about the NAACP's "Reimagine Coalition" with the HFPA.

The HFPA hired Neil Phillips as its chief diversity officer in November. The HFPA has previously committed to increasing the diversity of its membership and added 21 new members in 2021.