NEW YORK—The North American SABRE Awards ceremony will take place on Thursday May 28, and as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic will be the first virtual awards dinner since the competition launched 20 years ago.

Tickets for the broadcast—which incorporates both pre-recorded and live elements—will go on sale shortly and will be priced to allow all of our SABRE Awards and Agency of the Year finalists, and Individual Achievement, Best Agencies to Work For and Agency of the Decade winners to attend the first major PR event of the lockdown.

“For the past 20 years, our New York SABRE Awards dinner has brought together public relations leaders to celebrate the best insights, the most brilliant creativity, and the business impact of our profession,” says Paul Holmes, founder of PRovoke Media and chair of the SABRE judges. “This year, we celebrate the industry’s resilience too.

“For one evening, we want to be bring the public relations profession together at a time when togetherness seems both more challenging and more critically important than ever.”

PRovoke Media will be encouraging those who attend the SABRE ceremony to come together using online platforms to share a virtual experience that is designed to give people a taste of both the competition and connection that is normally a large part of our shared experience.

The SABRE ceremony will be supported by more than a dozen leading public relations firms, including Platinum-level sponsors Ketchum, W2O Group, Weber Shandwick, and Coyne PR, as well as a number of additional partners including Allison+Partners, M Booth, Day One, Edelman, Finn Partners, Hotwire, Joele Frank Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, MSL, Prosper Group, WE Communications, and Zeno Group.

The event will start at 6.30pm ET on May 28 and will run for no more than 90 minutes. Tickets will go on sale next week, but you can start planning your own virtual awards parties today.