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The 2021 Oscars will take place in person

From Harper's BAZAAR

Update: 3/12/2020

Unlike other award ceremonies, the 2021 Oscars is set to take place in-person rather than going virtual.

"The Oscars in-person telecast will happen," a representative from the Academy and ABC confirmed to Variety. It's currently unclear what safety precautions and guidelines will be put in place to enable the event to move forward as usual, but a source says the Academy "has done a walkthrough of the Dolby [Theatre, the Oscars venue] recently to see all the multiple options".

The event was originally scheduled for 28 February next year, however it will now take place two months later, on 25 April.

This decision was made due to the multiple international lockdowns which resulted from the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2021 Oscars will be broadcast on ABC.

Original story: 20/05/2020

Nearly six months into 2020, the prospect of 2021 may seem like light years away, but the Oscars' governing body is already looking ahead to next year's ceremony with caution.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering postponing the 2021 Academy Awards in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, multiple sources tell Variety. The broadcast is currently slated for 28 February, 2021, to air on ABC.

There are no definitive plans to delay the event yet; one insider said new dates haven't been discussed or proposed, but the source said postponement is "likely." Another source told Variety that the date hasn't changed yet at ABC.


Still, several questions remained unanswered. The Academy didn't respond to requests for comment. It's also unclear if the deadline for consideration would also be pushed back to align with the potential later ceremony.

The Oscars have already been adapting to the new entertainment landscape amidst stay-at-home orders and social distancing measures. With fewer people watching films in cinemas right now, the Academy will now consider films that premiered digitally if their studios had originally planned for them to have theatrical releases. The previous requirements stated a film had to have a seven-day release run in Los Angeles to qualify for consideration, according to Variety. Now, films that were set for theatres in New York, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta and the Bay Area will also have a shot.

As production on many films that might have been released in time for consideration has been delayed, there are also likely to be fewer Oscars contenders than usual - arguably making the competition less fair.

At the time, Academy president David Rubin told the outlet it was too early to confirm whether the 2021 Oscars would be delayed. “It’s impossible to know what the landscape will be,” he said in late April. “We know we want to celebrate film but we do not know exactly what form it will take.”

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