The 2002 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 29, 2002, honoring the best music videos from June 9, 2001, to May 31, 2002. The show was hosted by Jimmy Fallon at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. During the show, Michael Jackson accepted a birthday statue in hands of Britney Spears, which he believed to be an "Artist of the Millennium Award" due to a misunderstanding after which he joined her to present the Best Pop Video Award. Performers included Eminem, who won four awards including Video of the Year, and Guns N' Roses. The show also saw the debut solo performance from Justin Timberlake, performing his soon to be hit single "Like I Love You" alongside rap duo Clipse. TLC members Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chili" Thomas appeared, paying tribute to their fallen member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, who died in a car accident in Honduras on April 25, 2002, four months before the event.
Background
MTV announced on May 1 that the 2002 Video Music Awards would be held on August 29 at Radio City Music Hall.[2] The departure from the ceremony's traditional September scheduling was made to avoid a conflict with the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and the VMAs have alternated between August and September dates since this ceremony.[2] Nominees were announced on July 22, and Jimmy Fallon was announced as host on the same date.[3] The ceremony broadcast was preceded by the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards Opening Act. Hosted by Kurt Loder and SuChin Pak with reports from John Norris, Iann Robinson, Sway, Gideon Yago, and Nick Zano, the broadcast featured red carpet interviews, pre-taped reports on The Hives versus The Vines and P. Diddy, and performances from Avril Lavigne and Ludacris. The broadcast marked the first live awards ceremony to be filmed in the 24p digital format as MTV prepared to broadcast in high-definition for future ceremonies.[4]
