The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards take place on Sunday, September 27, with Madonna returning to the VMAs stage for the first time in 23 years and Taylor Swift receiving a new career honour.
The ceremony will begin at 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT and will air live on CBS and MTV. Viewers can also stream the ceremony live through Paramount+ Premium, which includes access to a local CBS station.
Snoop Dogg will host the ceremony.
In a press release, the rapper said, “MTV and the VMAs have been part of my story since the beginning. Some of the biggest moments of my career happened on that stage and on MTV – they gave hip hop a place to be loud, fearless, and seen by the whole world. So to come back now and host the VMAs, all these years later, that’s a full-circle moment for me.”
Madonna will open the show, while Lisa, Raye, Shaboozey, Gunna, Sienna Spiro, Gener8ion and Yung Lean are among the other performers.
Raye, Sombr and Teddy Swims will honour George Michael, while Kacey Musgraves will perform a Dolly Parton tribute.
Nirvana will receive the Video Vanguard Award, while Swift will become the first recipient of the MTV VMA Artist Director Honors.
She is also set to premiere her new music video for “Patient Zero”, starring Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell.
Madonna leads the nominations with 11, followed by Swift with 9. Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter each have 7 nominations, while the ceremony will feature categories including Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop, Best Hip-Hop, Best R&B and Best Country.
