The 2026 MAMA Awards has set out its safety plans for this year’s ceremony in Japan, saying it has prepared case-by-case manuals in advance, including earthquake response plans graded by intensity for the Osaka venue.
The update came at a media day held on the morning of October 29 at the Elliena Hotel Grand Ballroom in Gangnam, Seoul, according to NewsEn. CJ ENM music content business head Shin Hyung-kwan, Mnet business head Yoon Shin-hye, and CJ ENM convention business head Park Chan-wook attended the briefing.
This year’s ceremony is scheduled for November 20 and 21 at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan. It will be staged under the concept “A MUSIC INTERSTELLAR,” which organizers describe as a musical universe where artists and global fans connect beyond time and space through “MUSIC MAKES ONE,” while each fan finds their own star.
The safety discussion was framed by last year’s experience. The 2025 ceremony was held at Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong, but before the event a large fire broke out at a high-rise apartment complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district. In the aftermath, organizers cancelled the red carpet event, changed the staging and structure of the show, and made donations to support disaster relief.
Park said the team had wrestled with the situation last year and remembered offering comfort through music alongside its donation to Hong Kong. “We are thoroughly preparing for every case in advance,” he said. “In Japan’s case, we have prepared manuals by earthquake intensity.”
Park added that a separate organization is prepared on site from beforehand so that anything happening at the venue can be responded to immediately. “We will do our best to always show a good stage,” he said.
The briefing adds a practical layer to a ceremony whose buildup is already well underway. MAMA began in 1999 as the Video Music Awards and took the MAMA name in 2009, and this year marks its 27th edition. It has previously been staged in South Korea, Macau, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan, and in 2024 it became the first K-pop awards ceremony to be held in Los Angeles.
With the Osaka dates now less than a month away, the safety plan is the latest piece of the show’s preparations to be made public, following earlier announcements about its concept, hosting, and presenter lineup.
