The Hollywood Oscars leave Hollywood. Once they turn 100 years old, in 2028, the Film Academy Awards will leave the Dolby Theater, a site in the well-known Los Angeles neighborhood where they have been held for decades. A commercial agreement of the Academy has meant that, starting in 2029 and at least until 2039, the awards will go to downtownthe financial center of the city, specifically the theater called Peacock or LA Live.
The change occurs because the Academy has found a new business partner, , a large entertainment and events company (they claim to organize more than 13,000 a year) based in Los Angeles that manages some of the most important spaces in the city, such as the Peacock theater itself or the nearby Crypto.com Arena, home of the Los Angeles Lakers and where, among others, the Grammy and Emmy Awards are held. The agreement follows the one known three months ago, when the Academy announced that starting in 2029 (also when the awards reach their 101st edition) for at least five editions. Hence, said theater “will be the first space to host the Oscars when they are available on YouTube,” as the Academy has explained.
The Academy Awards are intrinsically associated with Hollywood, a neighborhood that is also the name of an entire industry. And neither one nor the other are at their best. Hollywood (specifically, Hollywood Boulevard) has many closed businesses; Its political and conservation officials are making efforts to give it a facelift, especially for the events that the city will host in the coming years: the Soccer World Cup this summer, the Super Bowl in 2027 and, in 2028, both the centenary of the Oscars and the Olympic Games, the third in its history. For its part, in the city, which has become a place where filming is unaffordably expensive, especially after the pandemic, and scriptwriters and
However, before starting at the Dolby (previously called the Kodak Theater and specifically designed for the awards), the awards were already in the downtownthe financial and administrative center of the city. For years they took place in two large event spaces in that area, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (where opera and ballet recitals are held) and the Shrine Auditorium, to the south, near Expo Park, the central area of the Olympic Games.
. And they have been doing it continuously since 2002 at the Dolby Theater, located right on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The famous auditorium, when, due to the coronavirus pandemic, they were held at the city’s central train station, Union Station. There are only two more editions left in Dolby: those of 2027 and 2028, the centenary. As explained by the local newspaper, plans to change the location of the Oscars have been in the works for a couple of years.
It is expected that the change of venue will also help increase the capacity of guests at the gala. Right now, the Academy has 11,000 members, but about 2,500 guests attend the gala. In the statement they issued, the Academy stated that “as part of this collaboration, AEG will carry out a series of comprehensive improvements to the theater, including the modernization of the stage, sound and lighting systems, lobbies, backstage facilities and other areas critical to the production.”
The Peacock or LA Live theater opened in 2007, 18 years later. So, as the Academy explains, it will have to change certain issues to adapt to one of the most followed galas in the world: “AEG will work closely with the Academy to incorporate the custom design elements necessary to host the Oscar ceremony.” Located in a large square with restaurants and bars – it is an area where many sporting events and concerts are held – they have also explained that this public space “will host the red carpet arrivals and activities.”
