Russell Wilson, Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird Will Host Remote 2020 ESPY Awards Show
Following virtual sports events like the 2020 NFL Draft, this year's ESPY Awards will follow suit.
On Tuesday, it was announced that the 2020 ESPYS will take place remotely with hosts Russell Wilson, Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
All three of the sports stars will virtually come together to host the show airing June 21 on ESPN.
"We liked the idea of having athletes from diverse sports that represent something for every fan," show producer Jeff Smith told THR. "We're finding ways to make this feel really connected to the audience. They're so ready to reach out to this community."
RELATED: Tracy Morgan Will Host the 2019 ESPY Awards
The Seahawks quarterback along with Rapinoe and her partner, Bird, all live in the Seattle area. This year's show, which is normally held in Los Angeles in July, was given a new date and re-created with the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in mind.
Rich Fury/Getty Russell Wilson, Ciara, Megan Rapinoe, and Sue Bird at the 2019 ESPYS
The show will still feature the presentation of top awards like the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Pat Tillman Award for Service, and the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, but the winners' acceptance speeches will be done a little differently.
Show producers are hoping to give the winners surprise phone calls, so they can find out the news of their win in real-time, THR reported. In order to make the live video calls work, Smith explained that the producers will work with family and team members to get winners on the video call at the right moment.
"We really love this sort of pure reaction," he told THR. "We found ways to really be able to capture it."
And though Rapione will be acting as a host this year, last year, she was a winner. The U.S. Women's National Soccer team star and her championship colleagues took home the award for best team at the 2019 ESPYS ceremony.
RELATED: The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team Wins the ESPY Award for Best Team After World Cup Victory
“We literally just got off a plane a couple of hours ago,” said Carli Lloyd while onstage. She continued, “Thank you to ESPN, all of our followers, supporters around the world … super proud of all of these 22 fabulous ladies.”
Megan Rapinoe of the United States Women's National Soccer Team
Kevin Winter/Getty Images Tracy Morgan
Rapinoe, joined by Alex Morgan, Rose Lavelle and the other superstar members of her team, accepted the win just hours after their ticker-tape parade in New York City, celebrating their World Cup victory.
The soccer player followed up her epic City Hall speech in N.Y.C. from that day with brief remarks on the ESPYS stage, joking to the gathered crowd of celebrities and athletes, “I’ve dropped the f-bomb on every stage I’ve been in on the last few days, so I’ll just spare you that.”
Last year, comedian and actor Tracy Morgan brought the funny to the ESPYS show, which has been presented every year since 1993.
Wilson and his wife, Ciara, attended the 2019 awards ceremony along with celebrities and athletes such as Sandra Bullock, Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union, Drew Brees, Elle Fanning, Zachary Levi, Kumail Nanjiani, Dave Bautista and Linda Cardellini.
The 2020 ESPYS will air June 21 on ESPN at 9 p.m. EST.
