The Olivier Awards with Mastercard has announced major broadcast and ceremony plans for 2017, including the news that this year’s ceremony will be broadcast on ITV on Tuesday 11 April from 8pm to 10pm.
It will broadcast worldwide at the same time, outside the UK, on Facebook. The awards ceremony will also stream to China for the first time ever via YouKu.
Magic Radio will be broadcasting the entire show live on Sunday 9th April, hosted by Alice Arnold and Olivier Award-winner Ruthie Henshall, with build-up on air from 5:30pm. Sirius XM will broadcast the show via radio in the US.
As previously announced, a new Red Carpet Live show debuts this year from 4:30pm to 6:00pm, hosted by Anita Rani, Jamie Lambert and Frank DiLella, exclusively on Facebook.
Widely recognised as the most prestigious stage honours, this year’s Olivier Awards are set to be the biggest yet as they make their debut at the Royal Albert Hall and will be hosted by Jason Manford, one of the country’s finest comics.
Julian Bird, Executive Producer of the Olivier Awards and Chief Executive of Society of London Theatre, said: “ITV is the perfect home to theatre’s biggest night and together we have seen the ceremony grow each year. The Olivier Awards are a celebration of the very best of London theatre, and we’re delighted that this year’s ceremony will be broadcast in primetime on ITV in the United Kingdom and across the world via Facebook.”
There will be performances from a variety of Olivier nominated musicals. Gary Barlow and Tim Firth will open the show with a unique performance with the cast of The Girls. American star Amber Riley will perform the show-stopping And I Am Telling You from Dreamgirls.
Tim Minchin will be flying in to represent Groundhog Day, which has recently begun previewing on Broadway. Fans of Andrew Lloyd Webber will be treated to a fabulous performance from the multi-talented cast of School Of Rock The Musical and a performance from Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s acclaimed production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which is set to return this summer.
Additionally, there will be an exclusive performance from Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes, nominated for Best Entertainment and Family – the production is currently on tour across the UK. Broadway legend and six-time Tony Award-winner, Audra McDonald, will perform accompanied by the Olivier Awards’ orchestra during the show’s In Memoriam section.
The many guest presenters for the awards will be announced over the coming weeks.
You can keep up to date with all the Olivier Awards news between now and the grand occasion on Official London Theatre, and by following us on Twitter and Facebook. You can also follow the Oliviers’ own Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.