he Academy Awards will have a host when the ceremony takes place on March 27. The announcement was made on Tuesday by Craig Erwich, president of Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment, during a virtual press tour.
Erwich didn’t share names of a potential host, however. “It might be me,” he joked. ABC also said the ceremony will take place again at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Last year, the awards moved to the historic Union train station in Downtown Los Angeles with a small crowd of nominees and guests as a safety measure against Covid-19.
The 2019 Oscars was the first in 30 years not to have a host. Comedian Kevin Hart, who was originally lined up to present the live ceremony, stepped down after being slammed on social media for the homophobic tweets he had posted in the past, for which he later apologised.
That year, the Oscars opened with a performance by rock band Queen, celebrating the success of the film Bohemian Rhapsody. The reviews of the ceremony were well received, so broadcasting company ABC and the Academy Awards decided to go with a no-host format in 2020, too.
Amid the pandemic, the 2021 Oscars had a select number of A-list celebrities in attendance and the one-hour event was streamed across different times to accommodate time zones.
In 2018, US comedian Jimmy Kimmel was the last host of the Academy Awards, after also serving in the role in 2017. Other hosts over the past decade have included Chris Rock, Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen DeGeneres, Seth MacFarlane, Billy Crystal, James Franco and Anne Hathaway.
Ratings for the telecast have fallen in recent years, dropping to a record low of 10.4 million people in the US in 2021. Viewership of other awards shows has also declined.
Nominations for the 94th Academy Awards will be announced on February 8. The ceremony will take place on March 27.
