This archive report was first published on 16 June 2020.
Published on June 16, 2020, the Academy Awards ceremony for 2021 has been postponed by two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ceremony, originally set for February 28, 2021, will now take place on April 25, 2021, according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Additionally, the eligibility window for the awards has been extended beyond December 31, 2020, to the end of February 2021.
The British Academy Film Awards (Baftas) have also been postponed to April 11, 2021, in line with the Oscars.
Several films have been delayed or halted due to the pandemic, affecting the release schedule for the year.
The Oscars ceremony has only been delayed three times before, in 1938 due to LA flooding, in 1968 following the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, and in 1981 after the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.
It remains unclear whether the ceremony will be held in-person or virtually, as the decision has not been made yet.
David Rubin, president of the Academy, and CEO Dawn Hudson stated, "For over a century, movies have played an important role in comforting, inspiring, and entertaining us during the darkest of times. They certainly have this year. Our hope, in extending the eligibility period and our awards date, is to provide the flexibility filmmakers need to finish and release their films without being penalised for something beyond anyone’s control."
Nominations for the Oscars will be announced on March 15, 2021.
