Snoop Dogg to Host 2026 MTV VMAs as Show Returns to Los Angeles

Snoop Dogg will lead the VMAs’ first West Coast ceremony since 2017, combining hosting duties with an executive-producer role.

Snoop Dogg will host the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on September 27 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. CBS and MTV announced his appointment on September 10, bringing the ceremony back to the West Coast after a run of editions in New York and New Jersey.

According to the official announcement, the broadcast will run from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. ET, or 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. PT, on CBS, with a simulcast on MTV and live streaming through Paramount+ Premium in the United States. Paramount+ and MTV will make the show available globally the following day.

For Snoop, the appointment reconnects him with a stage that has featured several chapters of his career. “So to come back now and host the VMAs, all these years later, that’s a full-circle moment for me,” he said in the announcement, crediting MTV with helping hip-hop reach a worldwide audience.

His relationship with the awards stretches back to his main-stage debut in 1994. A three-time winner with 13 nominations, Snoop later closed the 1999 ceremony with Dr. Dre and Eminem, joined a tribute to the Notorious B.I.G. in 2005, and returned for a metaverse-inspired performance with Eminem in 2022.

The hosting announcement also gives Snoop a role behind the scenes as an executive producer. Gunpowder & Sky is producing the show, with longtime MTV executive Van Toffler serving as producer; Snoop singled out their shared history at the network when discussing why this particular reunion matters to him.

The ceremony will also honor Nirvana with the Video Vanguard Award. Madonna leads this year’s nominations with 11, followed by Taylor Swift with nine, while Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter have seven each. Performers, presenters and special guests were still to be announced when MTV confirmed Snoop’s hosting role.

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