Oscars venue hit by power outage as rehearsals continue on eve of ceremony

Los Angeles, March 12

A neighbourhood-wide power outage impacted a stretch of Hollywood Boulevard's robust tourism area, including Ovation Hollywood, the complex set to host the Academy Awards Sunday evening.

Reports of the outage first emerged on Saturday afternoon at approximately 1 p.m. Located across the street from the Dolby, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where many A-list stars get made up for the Oscars red carpet, has been experiencing a series of losses and recoveries in power, reports Variety.

Ovation Hollywood, a shopping area previously known as Hollywood and Highland, saw several key areas go completely dark, including credential and safety offices. The Dolby Theater, which will host the Oscars ceremony on Sunday, is part of the Ovation site.

Sources close to the Academy state that power was swiftly restored in the Dolby auditorium after a brief outage indoors. Rehearsals are proceeding as planned.

"The Oscars are trying to be more green but this definitely wasn't part of the plan," one staffer told Variety.

Power was restored to the site at roughly 3 p.m. Operations at the credentials offices resumed.

Academy staff informed people waiting for red carpet and show credentials that they were working in coordination with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on a fix. Reporters on site state that power returned to the red carpet within the hour.

Jimmy Kimmel returns to host the Oscars on Sunday evening, marking the late-night host's third round as emcee for the ceremony.

He previously led the show in 2017 and 2018. After going two years without a host, the Oscars returned to the traditional format for last year's ceremony, recruiting Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall for the duty.