The MTV European Music Awards are to be held in London for the first time in more than 20 years.
The announcement was made by mayor Sadiq Khan at Viacom HQ as part of his “London is open” campaign.
He called the city the “entertainment capital of the world”.
The awards ceremony was last staged in London in 1996 when George Michael, Oasis and Alanis Morissette were among the winners.
The show will be held at the SSE Arena in Wembley on November 12.
Mr Khan said the decision to host the awards in London was proof that the city had not become “insular” since the UK voted to leave the European Union in last year’s referendum.
So excited that the #MTVEMAs are coming to LONDON! ?????? https://t.co/DY8IZQJvdD pic.twitter.com/59UYfITB3y
— MTV UK (@MTVUK) February 14, 2017
“If we are honest, there was a view after the Brexit vote that we’re going to stop being outward-looking, we’re going to stop being open-minded, we’re going to stop being open for business.“There was a concern we would be insular, we would be inward-looking and no longer the city that we’ve known for.“The great thing about today’s announcement is not only does it confirm that London is open, not only does it confirm that London is entertainment capital of the world, it shows we’re open to talent, to creativity, and for entertainment.”“It’s about time it was back… we’re going to show the world this November that London is the capital of the universe”, Mr Khan added.
