Juno Award logo. Photo from Junoawards.ca

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A year after hosting the Canadian Country Music Awards, London is trying to land another major music awards show.

Tourism London is making a bid for the 2019 Juno Awards, an annual event that honours the country’s top musicians and songwriters. As part of that bid, tourism officials will go to the strategic priorities and policy committee on Monday, cap in hand, to ask for financial backing.

To snag the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ Juno Week, which includes the awards show, cities vying for the honour must put up a bid fee of $1.7-million. To help cover the cost of it, Tourism London will look to the city for $500,000. The remaining $1.2-million will be leveraged from provincial and other sources.

“The chance to host Juno Week is a much sought-after opportunity, which creates an extremely competitive bid environment. Therefore, no details of London’s bid can be provided in order to protect London’s competitive position,” tourism officials wrote in a report heading to committee.

Only the winning city would pay the hefty bid fee.

The direct economic impact of hosting the premier event is estimated at $12-million, according to Tourism London. That number tops the $8.4-million economic boost London saw from hosting Country Music Week 2016 last September.

London’s Music Industry Development Officer Cory Crossman has already thrown his support behind the city’s bid.

In a letter to city councillors, Crossman says “presenting the Juno’s will once again reinforce London’s standing as a top tier host city that not only has the appropriate ingredients to support an event of this magnitude but the confidence and boldness to assert its rightful place as a salient contributor to music development in Canada.”

He also pointed out it supports eight of the 12 priorities of the London Music Strategy, including creating favourable business conditions for the music industry.

So far the only other city to confirm it is working on a bid for Juno Week is Saskatoon, although it is believed Quebec City will also throw its hat in the ring.

Vancouver is slated to host the 2018 Junos.