Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will be well aware by this point that the Oscars happened. Though it took place under completely different circumstances courtesy of the Covid-19 pandemic, people were relieved that they were still at least able to witness some light hearted entertainment to brighten up the dreariness of our very different world. Twitter exploded with humorous comments littering the platform, and of course everyone was talking about the winners of the night and the iconic outfits that rocked up on the red carpet.
As we all know, cinema has been hugely impacted due to COVID-19 and the date for the award show was even pushed back two months than originally planned. February is when you would usually catch celebrities walking the red carpet, not April 26th (BST). The Dolby Theatre has been the home of the Oscars since its opening in 2001, but this year, the ceremony also took place at Union Station in Los Angeles. The addition of this location sparked anger within the locals as a COVID-19 testing was relocated. “A lot of this is just terrible planning, and it’s removing access to a public utility for private profit in a way that makes no sense and does not allow for flexibility,” Ash Pana tells the Los Angeles Times.
Those who attended the show in person were all coronavirus tested in order to have a seat at a table.
Nielsen reported an audience total of 10.4 million people this year but despite more people than ever being online and streaming content, this was the least viewed Academy Awards with a 56% drop in viewers.
It was the first time since 2006 that no film more than three awards. Nomadland received the most awards with a total of three, one of which being Best Picture.
So, this year’s Oscars may have only just happened, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t already looking forward to next year already. It’s a long way away but when you already know the date, it’s all too tempting not to start clearing your schedule immediately in preparation. Book this date in your diaries; 27th February 2022. That being said, here’s hoping that the pesky pandemic is long behind us by that point, or else we could see another slightly longer wait like we did this year. Fingers crossed that come February we’ll be sat down watching the 94th ceremony.
If you can’t wait that long to see award action, fear not, there are still some opportunities in 2021 to see other events. The BRIT awards will be taking place 11th May 2021, also postponed from its original date in February and the Billboard Music awards is scheduled for 24th May. So, there’s still plenty to look forward to, especially if you are a music lover! But if you’re all about the Oscars, there’s only 10 months left…