The Academy Awards’ 2029 transformation will be ever more dramatic than anticipated. Not only will the show move from ABC to YouTube, but the event w
The Academy Awards’ 2029 transformation will be ever more dramatic than anticipated. Not only will the show move from ABC to YouTube, but the event will also take place at a completely up-to-date location: L.A. Live.
The Academy has signed a up-to-date multi-year deal with AEG that will see the Oscars moving to the venue in downtown Los Angeles starting in 2029, and lasting through 2039. The Oscars ceremony will be held in the venue currently known as Peacock Theater.
As part of the deal, the Peacock Theater will get a facelift, including upgrades to its stage, sound and lighting systems, lobbies, backstage facilities and additional production-critical areas. The red carpet will be based at L.A. LIVE’s recently expanded plaza.
“For the 101st Oscars and beyond, the Academy looks forward to closely collaborating with AEG to make L.A. LIVE the perfect backdrop for our global celebration of cinema, both for our live in-theater audience and for film fans around the world,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor in a statement.
The Oscars have been held at their current location—the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood—since 2002. Previously known as the Kodak Theater, the Hollywood venue was conceived and designed with the idea that it would be the long-term home of the Oscars.
While the Oscars have been held downtown before, previously inhabiting the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Shrine Auditorium, the Dolby Theater has now been synonymous with the event for the past two decades. The venue lists every best picture winner on columns that line the entrance to its red carpet, and tourists often stop to get their photos taken on the iconic steps leading up to the theater.
The Oscars ceremony also had the Dolby Theatre all to itself. Because no other major awards show used the venue, attending always felt like a unique experience to wrap up a protracted awards season. L.A. Live’s 23-acre, 4-million-square-foot sports and entertainment district will give the event a lot more space to work with—the theater can hold up to 7,100 seats, compared to the Dolby’s capacity of 3,400—but it won’t be dedicated solely to the Academy Awards: the complex is already used for both the Emmys and the Grammys.
As previously announced, the Academy will move the Oscars off broadcast TV in 2029 and shift to YouTube, a move that will likely help its viewership as global audiences will have an easier time tuning in from all over the world.
The Academy has been very focused on making sure the 100th Academy Awards in 2028 feels significant. Nw, with two major changes coming to the show the following year, that ceremony will truly feel like the end of an era.
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