The highly anticipated 93rd annual Academy Awards is set to kick off of Sunday night, with things looking very different this year thanks to the pandemic.
And ahead of the main event, Celeste took to the stage to perform for Oscars: Into The Spotlight – a free live stream airing on ABC before the show featuring Oscar songs performed by a number of artists.
And the British singer-songwriter, 26, led the way, with Celeste pulling out all the stops in an elaborate black sequinned gown featuring ruffled pink cuffs.
Sing it: Celeste took to the stage to perform for Oscars: Into The Spotlight – a free live stream airing on ABC before the show featuring Oscar songs performed by a number of artists
The beauty was sure to turn heads at the as yet unopened Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, as she donned the dramatic full-length black number which had an overlay of silver sequins in a floral pattern.
Celeste rounded off her showstopping look with her signature afro hair styled to perfection, while she added a glamorous palette of make-up featuring a coral lip.
The chart-topper looked full of confidence as she belted out her track Hear My Voice from the Best Picture nominated film, The Trial Of The Chicago 7.
Dazzling: the British singer-songwriter, 26, led the way, with Celeste pulling out all the stops in an elaborate black sequinned gown featuring ruffled pink cuffs
Celeste was in good company at the gig, with fellow singer H.E.R also taking to the stage to perform Fight For You, from the film Judas and the Black Messiah – which is also up for best picture.
The singer sparkled in a green glittery trouser suit and towering black heels, with the completing her look with rounded shades and cascading curled locks.
Other performers entertaining on the Into The Spotlight stream include Leslie Odom Jr, who sang Speak Now from the film One Night In Miami, with track nominated for Best Original Song.
Ahead of the ceremony, preparations were seen getting well underway, with the socially distanced event held not in Hollywood but in downtown Los Angeles at Union Station with only 170 people and not the usual 3,000.
Wow: The beauty was sure to turn heads at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, as she donned the dramatic full-length black number which had an overlay of silver sequins in a floral pattern
Performance: Celeste was in good company at the gig, with fellow singer H.E.R also taking to the stage to perform Fight For You, from the film Judas and the Black Messiah – which is also up for best picture
At the LA side of things, workmen were seen rolling out the carpet ready for the stars of Hollywood to grace.
While others were seen putting the finishing touches to the stylish decor.
This year, the series will adapt to the demands of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic for a socially distanced show that attempts to follow safety recommendations while steering clear of the virtual format other award shows have adopted.
To underscore the changes due to the pandemic, there will be no host, no audience, nor face masks for nominees attending the ceremony at Los Angeles’ Union Station -this year’s hub for a show usually broadcast from the Dolby Theatre.
Dressed to impress: The singer sparkled in a green glittery trouser suit and towering black heels, with the completing her look with rounded shades and cascading curled locks
Nominee: Other performers entertaining on the Into The Spotlight stream include Leslie Odom Jr, who sang Speak Now from the film One Night In Miami, with track nominated for Best Original Song
Though attendees will have to mask up when not on stage. And there will be COVID-19 testing as well as temperature checks.
And guests – Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon and Zendaya have been secured – are not able to bring guests.
There will only be about 170 attendees in all, which is far less than the 3,000 that normally attended the Oscars pre pandemic.
In contrast with the largely virtual Golden Globes, Zoom boxes have been closed out — though numerous international hubs and satellite feeds will connect nominees unable to travel.
Difference: The highly anticipated 93rd annual Academy Awards is set to kick off of Sunday night, with things looking very different this year thanks to the pandemic
Getting ready: Ahead of the ceremony, preparations were seen getting well underway, with the socially distanced event held not in Hollywood but in downtown Los Angeles at Union Station
Roll with it: At the LA side of things, workmen were seen rolling out the carpet ready for the stars of Hollywood to grace
Prep: Workers laid out the carpet ahead of the star-studded bash – albeit on a smaller scale
Due to the pandemic, the audience will be significantly capped at the venues, with only 170 attendees allowed inside Union Station, according to the Los Angeles Times.
That’s compared to the usual 3,000 people that the Dolby Theatre can accommodate.
‘As soon as you open the door beyond nominees, their plus-one and the presenters, you can’t control it,’ said filmmaker and first-time Oscars producer Steven Soderbergh at a press conference last week.
Smaller scale: Due to the pandemic, the audience will be significantly capped at the venues, with only 170 attendees allowed inside Union Station, according to the Los Angeles Times
All in the details: While others were seen putting the finishing touches to the stylish decor
Checks: A cameraman was pictured filming the scene ahead of the event kicking off
Rules: This year, the series will adapt to the demands of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic for a socially distanced show that attempts to follow safety recommendations while steering clear of the virtual format other award shows have adopted
‘And so that was not even a question for us. Like, this is how it has to be done. [Disney executive] Bob Iger won’t be there. That is just where we are at, and that is how we are being allowed to do it this way.’
In order to keep things moving smoothly, the show will have a bevy of rapid Covid-19 testing and temperature checks on site.
‘We are treating the event as an active movie set, with specially designed testing cadences to ensure up-to-the-minute results, including an on-site Covid safety team with PCR testing capability,’ the Oscar producers wrote in a letter to nominees last month.
Alterations: To underscore the changes due to the pandemic, there will be no host, no audience, nor face masks for nominees attending the ceremony at Los Angeles’ Union Station
Numbers: Due to the pandemic, the audience will be significantly capped at the venues, with only 170 attendees allowed inside Union Station, according to the Los Angeles Times
Precautions: In order to keep things moving smoothly, the show will have a bevy of rapid Covid-19 testing and temperature checks on site
In order to cut down on risks, attendees have been asked to skip going to crowded places like gyms or restaurants for the 10 days prior to the ceremony.
It doesn’t hurt that California now has the lowest coronavirus case rates in the continental United States.
The show appears to be trying to downplay the use of masks, as presenters won’t wear them when on camera, but they will be required to have them on during commercial breaks.
93rd Academy Awards: Who are the 2021 Oscar nominees?
Best Picture
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
Minari
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Picture: The Trial of the Chicago 7 is one of the eight films nominated
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day – The United States vs Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman – The Father
Amanda Seyfried – Mank
Youn Yuh-jung – Minari
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Olivia Colman is up for her role in The Father
Best Music (Original Score)
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Soul
Best Animated Short Film
Burrow
Genius Loci
If Anything Happens I Love You
Opera
Yes-People
Best Live Action Short Film
Feeling Through
The Letter Room
The Present
Two Distant Strangers
White Eye
Best International Feature Film
Another Round
Better Days
Collective
The Man Who Sold His Skin
Quo Vadis, Aida?
Best Sound: Greyhound – a war film starring Tom Hanks – is up for the gong
Best Sound
Greyhound
Mank
News of the World
Soul
Sound of Metal
Best Cinematography
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
News of the World
Nomadland
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Music (Original Song)
Fight for You – Judas and the Black Messiah
Hear My Voice – The Trial of the Chicago 7
Husavik – Eurovision Song Contest
Io Si (Seen) – The Life Ahead
Speak Now – One Night in Miami…
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is vying for the award
Best Director
Thomas Vinterberg – Another Round
David Fincher – Mank
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins – The Father
Gary Oldman – Mank
Steven Yeun – Minari
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah
Leslie Odom, Jr. – One Night in Miami…
Paul Raci – Sound of Metal
Lakeith Stanfield – Judas and the Black Messiah
Best Animated Feature Film
Onward
Over the Moon
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul
Wolfwalkers
Best Animated Feature Film: A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon is nominated
Best Costume Design
Emma
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Mulan
Pinnochio
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
The Father
Nomadland
One Night in Miami…
The White Tiger
Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
Judas and the Black Messiah
Minari
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Documentary Feature
Collective
Crip Camp
The Mole Agent
My Octopus Teacher
Time
Best Writing (Original Screenplay): Judas and the Black Messiah is up for the gong
Best Documentary Short Subject
Colette
A Concerto Is a Conversation
Do Not Split
Hunger Ward
A Love Song for Latasha
Best Film Editing
The Father
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Production Design
The Father
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
News of the World
Tenet
Best Visual Effects
Love and Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
Tenet
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Emma
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Pinocchio