Oscars 2021: Your complete guide to the ceremony and how to watch it in the UAE

After a two-month postponement, the 93rd Academy Awards is almost here. The Oscars ceremony Sunday (Monday early morning in the UAE) is set to be historic, with its most diverse nominations to date and an in-person ceremony that will not permit a Zoom option for nominees.

The road to the 2021 Oscars has been tested by a pandemic that has shaken Hollywood. Amid closures of beloved theatres and the rise of streaming services, the tradition-bound Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had to embrace change for the show to go on. With the show a day away, it’s the last chance to watch as many groundbreaking nominees as possible and build up excitement for the show. Here is everything you need to know about the Oscars.

Where can I watch in the UAE?: The host-less ceremony will be held at Union Station Los Angeles (where preparations are underway to make the space picture perfect for the grand event) and at the show’s usual home, the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Guests will not be required to wear face masks during the live telecast. But for those who didn’t get an invitation to attend in person, can watch the historical show and the socially distant red carpet ceremony prior to the awards while sitting in the UAE. Airing from 4am on Monday, April 26, the red carpet and the awards will feature on OSN Movies and OSN On Demand.

Additionally, film buffs have a day to squeeze in some Oscar-winning films on OSN, including Bong-Joon Ho’s ‘Parasite’, Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood’ (pictured) and more on OSN Movies. On April 25, OSN viewers can also catch the special, ‘Oscars: Into the Spotlight’, which will serve as a prelude to the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony. The special will be hosted by ‘Hamilton’s Arian DeBose and Lil RelHowery from ‘Bad Trip’. This 90-minute special will highlight nominees’ journey to Hollywood’s biggest night, giving fans around the world a peek into the party and bringing Oscar music to the festivities for the first time ever. This means you can catch all the Best Song performances here as well.

After the 93rd Oscars ends, the OSN celebration continues with Oscars: After Dark, hosted by actors Colman Domingo (Zola, pictured) and Andrew Rannells (The Prom) and featuring interviews by film critic Elvis Mitchell. The special will recap the evening’s must-see momets and follow the Oscars winners as they have their statuettes personalised.

Where is it happening? It’s not every day a historical ceremony such as tonight’s Oscars will be experienced in one lifetime. With the odds stacked against it in light of the pandemic, the Academy Awards will be held for the first time ever across two venues in the city - the Dolby Theatre and Union Station. But the logistics are hardly the focus this time.

Who is performing? Although there won’t be another Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper moment, this year’s five nominated original songs will be performed during the ‘Oscars: Into the Spotlight’ preshow.

Celeste and Daniel Pemberton will perform ‘Hear My Voice’ from ‘Chicago 7,’ H.E.R. (pictured) will sing ‘Fight for You’ from ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’, Leslie Odom Jr. will perform ‘Speak Now’ from ‘One Night in Miami’, Laura Pausini and Dianne Warren will perform ‘Io Si (Seen)’ from ‘The Life Ahead’.

Molly Sanden will perform ‘Husavík’ from ‘Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga’ (pictured). Sanden’s performance will be recorded in Husavík, Iceland, while the other four performances will happen on the Dolby Family Terrace of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. No songs will be performed during the main ceremony, a break from recent Oscars tradition.

Who’s nominated? Netflix still hasn’t had a best picture winner, but with ‘Mank’ (pictured) and ‘Trial of the Chicago 7’ nominated for the top prize, this might just be the streaming giant’s year. With 36 nominations, Netflix has the chance to come away with the most awards of the night. Its nominations range from best picture for ‘Mank’ and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ to actress in a supporting role for Glenn Close’s performance in the critically panned drama ‘Hillbilly Elegy’.

Following Netflix, competitor Amazon Studios has 12 nominations for movies such as ‘Sound of Metal’ (pictured), ‘One Night in Miami...’ and ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’. The nominees for the 93rd Academy Awards are the most diverse group ever. Following industry reckonings in recent years over a preponderance of white and male-led nominations, a lot of “first ever” nods this year pleasantly surprised many movie watchers.

Two women — Chloe Zhao (pictured) for ‘Nomadland’ and Emerald Fennell for ‘Promising Young Woman’ — are nominated for achievement in directing, the first time that category has had more than one female nominee. Zhao is also the first Asian woman, and first woman of color, nominated for best director.

‘Judas and the Black Messiah’, nominated for best picture, is making Oscars history as the only nominated film ever to have an all-Black producing team. The two leads, LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya, are both up for awards for acting in a supporting role.

For the first time, nonwhite nominees outnumber white nominees in the best actor category. ‘Minari’s’ Steven Yeun (pictured) is the first Asian American to land a nomination in the category. Riz Ahmed from ‘Sound of Metal’ also made history as the first Muslim to be nominated for best actor and the first person of Pakistani descent to be named in any acting category.

‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer last August, is nominated for ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’.

Viola Davis is also a record breaker, holding the most lifetime Oscar nominations — four — for a Black actress. The 2017 supporting actress winner for ‘Fences’ is nominated this year for lead actress for her work in ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’.

So … who is going to win? Filling out those Oscar ballots is a tough job, even for people doing it at home. ‘Nomadland’ (pictured) has been a front-runner all awards season, locking up best picture wins at the Golden Globes, Producers Guild Awards and the BAFTA Awards. Nothing is guaranteed, though, and the academy has had its fair share of upsets.

Who is presenting? This year, the presenters are an “ensemble cast” to go along with what the show producers said was their “awards-show-as-a-movie approach.” The 2020 winner for achievement in directing, Bong Joon Ho (pictured), will return to the Oscars stage to present an award, as well as the winners from the 2020 acting categories — Joaquin Phoenix, Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon and Renee Zellweger.

Here’s the rest of the star-studded cast: Riz Ahmed, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Bryan Cranston, Viola Davis, Laura Dern, Harrison Ford, Regina King, Marlee Matlin, Rita Moreno and Zendaya (Pictured).