--- title: TIME Hosts Debate Series Ahead of 2020 Person of the Year description: Before the reveal of Person of the Year, TIME hosts a series of virtual conversations with leading newsmakers on the people who defined 2020 canonical: https://time.com/5917951/time-person-of-the-year-live-debates/ author: TIME PR article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-12-04T16:19:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T09:29:53.897Z article:section: Press Room og:title: TIME Hosts Debate Series Ahead of 2020 Person of the Year og:description: Before the reveal of Person of the Year, TIME hosts a series of virtual conversations with leading newsmakers on the people who defined 2020 og:url: https://time.com/5917951/time-person-of-the-year-live-debates/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62e3f11207139eba/6989431c16d8844e4fc3464f/time-logo-social-1.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: time-logo-social og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: TIME Hosts Debate Series Ahead of 2020 Person of the Year twitter:description: Before the reveal of Person of the Year, TIME hosts a series of virtual conversations with leading newsmakers on the people who defined 2020 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62e3f11207139eba/6989431c16d8844e4fc3464f/time-logo-social-1.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # TIME to Host New Series of Debates and Virtual Conversations in Anticipation of the Reveal of the 2020 Person of the Year > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [TIME PR](https://time.com/author/time-pr/) ## TIME PR Dec 4, 2020 4:19 PM UTC  by [TIME PR](https://time.com/author/time-pr/) ## TIME PR Dec 4, 2020 4:19 PM UTC _Events Mark the Latest Expansion of Person of the Year, which will be Revealed During the First-ever_ _“TIME Person of the Year” Television Special on NBC, Dec. 10 at 10 p.m. ET/PT_ _“TIME Person of the Year” Telecast will Feature Special Guest Appearances by Issa Rae, John Cena, Mark Cuban, Jay-Z and Musical Performances by H.E.R. and Yo-Yo Ma_ (December 3, 2020 — New York, NY) In anticipation of the reveal of the 2020 TIME Person of the Year on Dec. 10, TIME will convene a series of new virtual conversations with leading newsmakers on the people and events that defined a year like no other. On Monday, Dec. 7 at 12 p.m. ET, TIME will host the first-ever **TIME Person of the Year Debates, powered by Zoom.** The event will feature two panels, each moderated by TIME executive editor and editorial director of Person of the Year Ben Goldberger. Confirmed speakers include infectious disease expert and member of President-elect Biden’s Covid-19 Advisory Council **Dr. Céline Gounder**, physician and public health advocate **Dr. Leana Wen**, founding partner of Three Point Strategies **Jessica Byrd**, and former NFL player and creator of _Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man_ **Emmanuel Acho**, with a special appearance by **Jos** **é** **Andr** **é** **s**, founder, World Central Kitchen and chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup. To register or learn more, visit: . On Thursday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m. ET, TIME will host a special installment of **TIME100 Talks**, TIME’s series that convenes the world’s leading voices to encourage action toward a better world. Featuring influential leaders from 2020, it will address the events of the past year and some of the most promising solutions to the challenges we face—as well as the leaders’ visions for the future. Speakers will be announced in the coming days. To register and find more details, here: . These new events mark the continued expansion of TIME Person of the Year, which TIME editors have named since 1927 to recognize the person or group of people who had the greatest influence on the events of the year—for better or worse. “For nearly a century, Person of the Year has been the definitive chronicle of the people who shape our world and the forces that shape them,” said Ben Goldberger, TIME Executive Editor and Editorial Director of Person of the Year. “We are thrilled to continue its evolution with this series of exciting conversations that will take viewers into the debates over the most influential stories and people of the year for the first time.” In 2019, TIME expanded Person of the Year to recognize the influence of individuals in specific sectors by naming a Businessperson of the Year, Entertainer of the Year, Athlete of the Year and the Guardians of the Year. This year, TIME and NBC are partnering to debut the first-ever “TIME Person of the Year” television special featuring exclusive coverage of TIME’s choice for the individual or group that has had the greatest influence on the events of the year, set for Thursday, Dec. 10 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The telecast will review the extraordinary year of 2020 through exclusive interviews, and will include in-depth profiles highlighting the year’s most prominent global stories, featured appearances from special guests including **Issa Rae, John Cena, Mark Cuban, Jay-Z** and many more, with musical performances by **H.E.R.** and **Yo-Yo Ma**. The “TIME Person of the Year” broadcast special is created by TIME Studios and produced in partnership with P&G, with MaggieVision Productions serving as showrunners, and is presented by State Farm and Amazon. Visit Time.com on Thursday Dec. 10 to experience TIME’s 2020 Person of the Year coverage, which includes a special issue, multiple worldwide covers and exclusive photography and video packages. Leading into the reveal, readers can cast their vote for who they think shaped 2020 with the annual TIME Person of the Year readers’ poll: . ### ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5917951/time-person-of-the-year-live-debates/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5917951/time-person-of-the-year-live-debates/"},"headline":"TIME to Host New Series of Debates and Virtual Conversations in Anticipation of the Reveal of the 2020 Person of the Year","datePublished":"2020-12-04T16:19:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T09:29:53.897Z","description":"Before the reveal of Person of the Year, TIME hosts a series of virtual conversations with leading newsmakers on the people who defined 2020","url":"https://time.com/5917951/time-person-of-the-year-live-debates/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62e3f11207139eba/6989431c16d8844e4fc3464f/time-logo-social-1.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME PR","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-pr/"}],"articleSection":"Press Room","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62e3f11207139eba/6989431c16d8844e4fc3464f/time-logo-social-1.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"time-logo-social","caption":"white TIME logo on red background","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/press-room/","name":"Press Room"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5917951/time-person-of-the-year-live-debates/","name":"TIME to Host New Series of Debates and Virtual Conversations in Anticipation of the Reveal of the 2020 Person of the Year"}}]}] ```