The Oscars 2019: Everything You Need To Know

This year’s Oscars are nearly upon us, signalling the grand finale of awards season. The 91st Academy Awards will take place on Sunday 24 February in LA; here's everything you need to know about this year's ceremony.

The Timings

The stars start arriving on the red carpet from around 4pm local time, which is midnight in the UK. The awards themselves will start at 5:30 pm, so that’s 1:30 am GMT. The ceremony lasts for approximately two hours.

Related article: The Oscars To Introduce New Award For Outstanding Popular Film

The Venue

Every year the Oscars are held at the Dolby Theatre on the famed Hollywood Boulevard. The auditorium, which was renamed from the Kodak Theatre in 2012, has played host to the annual Academy Awards since 2002.

How To Watch It

You can watch the Oscars live on the dedicated Sky Cinema Oscars channel. You don't need to be a Sky subscriber, you can access the channel with a Sky Cinema Pass on NOW TV, which costs £9.99 per month.

In the US, it will be screened on ABC, with coverage from the red carpet starting at 6.30pm ET.

It's not yet confirmed who will be presenting the UK coverage this year, but last year viewers were treated to Alex Zane and guests discussing the awards as they happened.

The Guestlist

Roma and The Favourite lead the Oscar nominations with 10 nods each, so you can expect to see the likes of Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and Yalitza Aparicio gracing the red carpet. A Star is Born has been nominated several times, meaning we'll have Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga (hopefully in a scene-stealing gown) in attendance, as well as the likes of Glenn Close, Amy Adams, Melissa McCarthy and Regina King, who have all also been recognised by the academy this year.

Related article: All The Best Red Carpet Looks At The Sag Awards 2019

Mary Poppins Returns, Mary Queen of Scots and Black Panther have also received a handful of noms, meaning we'll likely be treated to some red-carpet fashion from Bazaar favourites Emily Blunt, Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie and Lupita Nyong'o.

Nominees aside, there's also a whole host of presenters who will be gracing the ceremony. The leading actor and leading actress awards are traditionally handed out by last year's winners, so that's Gary Oldman and Frances McDormand on the guestlist. Similarly, Allison Janney and Sam Rockwell won the supporting actress/actor awards, so they'll likely be passing on the honour to this year's recipients. The rest of the night's presenters will be announced in the days leading up to the ceremony.

The Likely Winners

If the Globes, Producers' Guild and Critics' Choice Awards are any indicator, then Glenn Close (The Wife) and Olivia Colman (The Favourite) are the most likely contenders for the Leading Actress prize. Rami Malek's turn as Freddie Mercury (Bohemian Rhapsody) has him tipped for the Leading Actor award, although he'll face fierce competition from Christian Bale's portrayal of Dick Cheney (Vice).

Green Book is widely expected to win Best Picture, while the Director prize is likely to go to Alfonso Cuaron for Roma. Lady Gaga is also hotly tipped to take home her first Oscar for Best Original Song for 'Shallows' (A Star is Born).

The Host

This year's Oscars host, Kevin Hart, stepped down after a string of homophobic tweets from 2010 resurfaced on social media. The comedian and actor immediately issued an apology to the LGBTQ community.

The Academy decided not to replace him, opting instead to have a host-less ceremony for the first time in the awards' 90-year history.

Featured article: The Best Jewellery Moments At The 2018 Emmy Awards

This article originally appeared in Harper's BAZAAR UK