Originally scheduled for February 28, 2021, the 93rd Oscars will now be held on April 25, 2021. This decision was taken in light of the current COVID-19 global pandemic by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
With work halted on a number of films that were due for release by the end of the year, the Academy has extended the eligibility window from December 3, 2020 to February 28, 2021, as a one-time concession. Submission deadlines have also been postponed, and rules have been amended to include films that had digital-only, streaming, or video-on-demand releases during the pandemic.
The shortlist will be announced on February 9, 2021 the nominations on March 15, 2021 and the Academy Museum Opening has been pushed to April 30, 2021.
The British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAS) have also followed suit to stick to their tradition of being held a fortnight before the Oscars. They are now slated for April 11, 2021.
Before COVID-19, the Oscars had been delayed during the floods in Los Angeles in 1938, after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, and most recently, after the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981.