Snoop Dogg will host the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards when the show returns to the West Coast for the first time in nearly a decade, CBS and MTV announced Thursday.
The rapper and entertainment mogul will lead the awards show live from Los Angeles on Sept. 27. The VMAs will air from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern on CBS, with a simultaneous broadcast on MTV and streaming for Paramount+ Premium subscribers in the United States.
The ceremony will become available globally the following day on Paramount+ and MTV.
Snoop Dogg, a 13-time VMA nominee and three-time winner, has a long history with the awards show stretching back more than three decades.
He made his main-stage VMA debut in 1994 and later closed the 1999 ceremony alongside Dr. Dre and Eminem. In 2005, he took part in a tribute to slain rapper the Notorious B.I.G.
More recently, Snoop Dogg joined Eminem for a 2022 performance inspired by the virtual world of the Otherside metaverse.
“MTV and the VMAs have been part of my story since the beginning,” Snoop Dogg said in a statement. “Some of the biggest moments of my career happened on that stage and on MTV—they gave hip hop a place to be loud, fearless, and seen by the whole world.”
He called hosting the show a “full-circle moment” and highlighted his longtime relationship with former MTV executive Van Toffler.
“Van was there during those early MTV days when we were changing the culture in real time, and we’ve got a whole lot of history together,” Snoop Dogg said. “Now we get to make some new history.”
The 2026 ceremony marks the VMAs’ first return to the West Coast since 2017.
Performers, presenters, and other special guests are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
