The 97th annual Academy Awards are upon us.

All around Los Angeles, gowns are being steamed, shoes are being shined, and speeches are being rehearsed. Even for us common folk, a lot goes into preparing for the big day, from troubleshooting your streaming setup, to filling out your predictions ballot, to keeping an eye out for the one and only Whoopi Goldberg, who is returning to the Oscars stage for the first time in nearly 10 years as a presenter.

From the controversy over Emilia Pérez nominee Karla Sofía Gascón’s racist and Islamophobic social media posts, to Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo being set as performers despite the songs from their film not being eligible for nomination, this year’s ceremony is already shaping up to be one to remember.

This year, the most elite horse race in the movie biz has decided on the trans cartel musical Emilia Pérez, austere historical epic The Brutalist, and Wicked as the frontrunners. The Jacques Audiard-directed Cannes winner racked up 13 overall nods, with The Brutalist and Wicked tailing closely behind at 10 noms a piece.

A handful of prestigious prizes have actually already been conferred at the annual Governors Awards. Each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors selects professionals from across the industry to be recognized with lifetime achievement awards. This past November, those went to music pioneer Quincy Jones, who died on Nov. 4 at 91, casting professional Juliet Taylor, Richard Curtis, who was given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, and James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Broccoli and Wilson recently made the historic decision to cede control of the Bond franchise to Amazon MGM Studios.

For the rest of the hotly-anticipated awards, and all the logistical details you need to stream the full ceremony, learn more below.

Check out more from EW’s The Awardist, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year’s best in TV, movies, and more.

When and where are the 2025 Oscars?

The 2025 Oscars are set to take place on Sunday, March 2, at the show’s long-time home of the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The main event, which generally runs longer than three hours, kicks off at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

How can I watch the Oscars ceremony?

For the 48th year, the 2025 Oscars will be televised on ABC for viewers around the globe. For the first time this year, the awards ceremony will also be available to stream live on Hulu, and on Disney+ internationally. Cable subscribers can also watch the Oscars on ABC.com and the ABC app.

Is there an Oscars pre-show?

ABC will air its own official pre-show, On The Red Carpet at the Oscars, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT. ABC News’ Linsey Davis, Whit Johnson, and Chris Connelly, as well as KABC’s George Pennacchio and Variety editor Clayton Davis serve as co-hosts. The network’s unofficial fashion police squad is comprised this year of KABC meteorologist Leslie Lopez, model Roshumba Williams, and fashion expert Joe Zee.

Then, the official Oscars Red Carpet Show begins at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on ABC, leading into the ceremony. Dancing With the Stars MC Julianne Hough returns as co-host, but her 2024 co-host Vanessa Hudgens will be replaced this year by former NFL champ and current Bachelor franchise host Jesse Palmer. The special highlights all the nominees, performers, and presenters, and memorable red carpet moments.

Who will host the 2025 Oscars?

Jimmy Kimmel is momentarily pausing his ascent up Oscars host mountain (Bob Hope still sits comfortable at the top, having hosted the ceremony 19 times), handing over the mic to first-time host Conan O’Brien.

O’Brien recently joked about the “dump tips” Kimmel gave him for the big night, including the eminently reasonable advice to “‘Try and sit down! If you can do the joke sitting down, do them sitting down!'”

Is there an Oscars announcer this year?

Yes, Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman will serve as this year’s announcer, taking over the role originated by Ronald Reagan in 1953, from last year’s “voice of God,” David Alan Grier.

Who is nominated at the 2025 Oscars?

Despite Emilia Pérez, The Brutalist, and Wicked dominating the field, there’s much diversity among the nominated films, and several surprises contained within 2025’s full nominations list. From Edward Berger’s riveting papal drama Conclave to James Mangold‘s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, to the Colson Whitehead adaptation Nickel Boys, this year’s nominees contain hints of all 31 flavors of the film industry.

Timothée Chalamet rocketed to front of the Best Actor pack after scoring a surprising win at last weekend’s SAG Awards for his performance in A Complete Unknown. Gascón, who made history by becoming the first openly trans actress to be nominated for Best Actress, took the wind out from under her own wings thanks to her previously mentioned social media scandal, ceding the field to contenders like Mikey Madison, who won at the Independent Spirit Awards for her performance in Sean Baker’s sex work screwball Anora, and Demi Moore, who won at both the SAG Awards and the Golden Globes for her performance in the body horror shocker The Substance. Kieran Culkin also launched to the front of the Best Supporting Actor pack with numerous awards season wins for his role in Jesse Eisenberg‘s A Real Pain.

Then there are all the snubs and surprises, including Chalamet’s A Complete Unknown costar Monica Barbaro landing a nod for Best Supporting Actress, Angelina Jolie not being nominated for her role in the biopic Maria, which was tailor-made for the Oscars, and the team behind The Last Showgirl‘s standout song “Beautiful That Way” (Miley Cyrus, Lykke Li, and “Shallow” writer Andrew Wyatt) not being nominated for Best Song.

Who is presenting at the 2025 Oscars?

The Oscars assemble a galaxy of superstars each year to present awards to their peers and collaborators, and this year is no different. Last year’s performance winners will return to present this year’s acting prizes, so keep an eye out for Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Emma Stone.

Joining them are Joe Alwyn, Dave Bautista, Halle Berry, Sterling K. Brown, Penélope Cruz, Ana de Armas, Willem Dafoe, Lily-Rose Depp, Elle Fanning, Harrison Ford, Gal Gadot, Andrew Garfield, Whoopi Goldberg, Selena Gomez, Goldie Hawn, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, John Lithgow,  Connie Nielsen, Amy Poehler, Margaret Qualley, Alba Rohrwacher, Zoe Saldaña, Ben Stiller, June Squibb, Oprah Winfrey, Bowen Yang, and Rachel Zegler.

Who will perform at the 2025 Oscars?

This year the Academy made a surprising decision to move away from showcasing each of the Best Song nominees with live performances. So the creative teams behind Emilia Pérez, Sing Sing, and a new Elton John documentary will not be gracing the Dolby stage.

There will be performances, however, including Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, whose movie music could not be nominated in the category because it originated with the 2003 Broadway production.

Joining Grande and Erivo are Queen Latifah, who will take part in a tribute to late music producer Quincy Jones, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and pop stars Doja Cat, Raye, and Lisa (of Blackpink and White Lotus fame), who released the collaborative single “Born Again” earlier this month.

How will the Oscars recognize the L.A. wildfires aftermath?

The greater Los Angeles area suffered massive damage and loss of life earlier this year, as several wildfires blazed across tens of thousands of acres. The Palisades Fire on the coast and the Eaton Fire in Altadena to the north of the city impacted scores of entertainers, including Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins, Jeff Bridges, and Mel Gibson, honorary Oscar recipient and 2025 nominee Diane Warren, former nominees  John C. Reilly, Haley Joel Osment, and past host  Billy Crystal, among many more.

At a Feb. 27 press conference ahead of the Oscars ceremony, executive producer and showrunner Raj Kapoor said that the show will address the impact the fires have had on the city and its industry. The “overall theme” of the evening will be “very much about community and spirit, and all the people that work behind the scenes, and all the people that work behind the show.”

Kapoor also noted that “there will be a charitable component, that people will be able to interact with and are free to donate, if they would like to.”