China Central Television (CCTV) and MTV Networks Asia will present the 2003 CCTV-MTV Music Awards on September 12.

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the annual music awards, this year's ceremony will for the first time be moved out of CCTV's studio to be presented as a gala show at Beijing Worker's Stadium with an audience from 5,000 to 6,000 people.

And the show will be broadcast on CCTV1, CCTV3 and the newly launched 24 hour MTV China channel.

Leading pop singers and song writers from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as popular international artists will take part in the event.

A total of 24 awards will be presented to those who have brought tremendous inspiration to the region's music industry.

From August 12, the fans will be able to vote for their favorite stars on websites www.cctv.com, www.mtv-china.com, www.mycctv.com.

Ten lucky voters will win tickets to the spectacular show.

Two additional voting sessions will be held, one in the Shanghai Rojam Disco on August 30 and one in the Beijing JJ Disco on September 16.

The CCTV-MTV Music Awards show is entering its fifth year.

During a press conference held in Beijing last Tuesday, Meng Xin, chief director of CCTV Channel 3, said: "We can expect more excitement in the upcoming show which has, over the years, established itself as a model partnership between CCTV and MTV."

Li Yifei, MTV China's Managing Director, said she was confident about this years' ceremony.

"We hope that the CCTV-MTV Music Awards will continue its growth in the future," she said.

The reputation of the event has spread beyond Asia and last year's animated logo was awarded the Platinum award for "Non-News, In-House Logo Animation," at the Promax & BDA Design Awards in Los Angeles.

(China Daily August 19, 2003)