ITV confirms Jonathan Ross will return to present Oscars LIVE while Conan O'Brien hosts star-studded ceremony in LA

ITV has confirmed that Jonathan Ross will return as the host of Oscars LIVE on Sunday 2nd March. 

For a second year running, ITV will premiere the 97th Oscars ceremony and this year will include exciting red carpet coverage hosted by Ross King from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

A host of stars will join Jonathan in the London studio while Ross chats to A-listers on the red carpet ahead of ceremony which will begin in the UK at midnight.

This year Conan O'Brien is taking over the reigns of Hollywood's biggest night from 2024 and 2023 host Jimmy Kimmel.

After having huge success covering the awards ceremony last year in the UK with a staggering 5.2 million viewers tuning in, ITV have promised added behind-the-scenes extras this year. 

It comes after Sky pulled out of broadcasting the Oscars ceremony last year after 20 years, following viewing figures falling. 

Prior to the night ITVX will also broadcast the 97th Oscars Nominations Announcement show live on Thursday, January 23 at 1:10pm. 

The show will be hosted by broadcaster Lucrezia Millarini with Nina Nannar who will delve into the nominations.   

It comes just a week after Oscar bosses refused to cancel Hollywood's biggest night amid the LA fires - despite a report claiming the show could be axed.

It had been claimed a secret 'contingency strategy' was in place for the March 2 awards ceremony to be called off, per the U.S. Sun, over fears the glitzy ceremony could be seen as 'tone deaf' after thousands lost their homes and 25 died.

Official Academy Award committees, led by A-listers including Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, and Emma Stone were said to be monitoring the wildfires situation daily.

However, film academy sources have hit back at the 'false' claims via THR, and 'categorically deny' that any advisory committee exists.

The body assessing how the Academy should proceed is the organization’s 55-person board of governors and not actors named by the publication - with the consensus being the ceremony's date will not be moving.

The board includes four people who lost their homes in the fires.

They have decided to push back the Oscar nominees announcement and extend the  nominations voting window.

The Oscar Nominees Luncheon was cancelled while the Scientific and Technical Awards have been postponed.

It was revealed the 'prevailing sentiment within the Academy’s leadership' is 'that the show should go on - in a dignified manner that would help to raise funds for and celebrate fire relief efforts.'

An insider had told the US Sun that there was a growing concern that proceeding with the glitzy Oscars 2025 bash could be seen as tone-deaf given the recent destruction. 

'The board’s main concern at this time is to not look like they are celebrating while many Los Angelenos are dealing with heartbreak and unimaginable loss,' an insider told the publication. 

'And certainly, even if the fires went out in the next week, the reality is that the city is still hurting and will be dealing with that pain for months,' the insider added. 

'So the hierarchy decided that the focus will be support and fundraising when the right opportunities present themselves.'

The insider added that 'the very thought of having a waiter, a poorly paid innocent who has lost their home, serving delicate Wagyu burgers and sliced cucumber sandwiches to multi-millionaire movie stars doesn’t exactly sit right.' 

There are 17 separate branches of the Oscars' committees who realize 'that in a worst case situation, the fires could continue for weeks, prompting disastrous and cataclysmic issues for LA and Hollywood, where the awards are staged.' 

The source added that the situation is being monitored with 'some well-known faces consulted' and that 'everything is so up in the air that anything could happen.' 

Even if the awards ceremony proceeds, the extravagant $171,000 goody bags will be eliminated, as they have been deemed in 'bad taste' by board members.

These lavish gifts included a three-night stay in the Swiss Alps, beauty treatments, exquisite jewellery, and a $1,220 barbecue grill. 

Many social media users have shared their thoughts on the event, and suggested that the ceremony itself be changed to a telethon fundraiser to help raise money for the victims of the fires that began last week. 

The first Oscars ceremony was held in 1929. The Oscars have never been completely cancelled, only delayed. 

The ceremony was last delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. At the time the show was postponed for two months, from February to April. 

The show has been moved a few times throughout history, including after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, and due to historic flooding in Los Angeles in 1938. 

Four members of the Academy's board of governors as well as the former CEO additionally lost their houses in the fires, according to The Hollywood Reporter.