The Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences announced Thursday, March 26 that the annual Academy Awards ceremony will move to L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles in 2029.
After the 100th annual Academy Awards is held in 2028 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, home to the Oscars since 2002, the second century of Hollywood’s most prestigious awards ceremony will move to the current Peacock Theater in the L.A. Live entertainment and sports complex.
The Peacock Theater is expected to have a new name by 2029, the same year the Oscars moves to YouTube from ABC, its broadcast home since 1976.
L.A. Live is also home to Crypto.com Arena, the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels, restaurants and bars and more. The entire 23-acre complex is owned and operated by AEG.
“We are thrilled to partner with a global powerhouse like AEG,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell in a written statement. “Their track record for building and operating technologically sophisticated live performance venues isunrivaled.
“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,” they said.
As landlord for the Academy Awards, AEG upgrade the theater extensively including its stage, lighting and sound, the lobbies and backstage areas, and production facilities.
L.A. Live recently expanded the plaza between the current Peacock Theater and Crypto.com Arena, and it is expected to host red carpet arrivals and other aspects of the awards show.
“L.A. LIVE was built to host the moments that define culture, and there is no greater global stage than the Oscars,” said Todd Goldstein, AEG’s chief revenue officer, in a written statement. “We’re proud to partner with the Academy to reimagine what the Oscars can look and feel like in the years ahead.
“Together, we will create an environment that celebrates creativity, honors excellence, and delivers an unforgettable experience for movie fans everywhere,” he said.
While the Oscars have been located on Hollywood Boulevard since settling into the then-Kodak Theatre, which later changed its name to the Dolby Theatre, over almost a century of celebrating the best in motion pictures the ceremony has bounced between Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles.
Before the Dolby it had been in or near downtown Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at different points in time. The show has also been held in Hollywood at venues such as the Pantages Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, site of the first-ever Oscars in 1929.
The Peacock Theater has hosted such awards shows as the Emmy Awards, the ESPY Awards, the Grammy Awards, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies, and more. Crypto.com Arena located next to Peacock in the L.A. Live entertainment complex, is the current home of the Grammy Awards and will host gymnastics competitions during the 2028 Summer Olympics.