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.

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.

[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.