ITV to Broadcast Special Olivier Awards Programme in Place of Cancelled Award Show

ITV will broadcast a special Olivier Awards with Mastercard programme on Sunday 5 April at 10:15pm, in place of the 2020 Royal Albert Hall awards show which was cancelled due to coronavirus.

Hosted by Jason Manford, the hour-long 'Olivier Awards - Greatest Moments' programme will look back at Olivier Awards ceremonies over the past ten years, with archive footage of performances and speeches, and a celebration of some of the many Olivier Award-winning productions - including Dreamgirls, Hamilton, The Book Of Mormon, Disney's The Lion King and the RSC's Matilda The Musical.

Official radio partner Magic Radio will broadcast a special programme from 6pm to 8pm on the same evening, also celebrating the best Olivier Awards moments, alongside a weekend of shows on Magic's new musical theatre station Magic at the Musicals.

Nominations for the Olivier Awards 2020 with Mastercard were announced on 3 March, and the winners will be revealed in a special ceremony and event - also broadcast on ITV and Magic Radio - which depending on government medical advice is likely to be held in the Autumn, with plans to be confirmed as soon as is feasible.

In the lead-up to Sunday 5 April, the Olivier Awards social channels will be trailing the ITV and Magic Radio programmes by publishing stand-out content from shows to be featured in the broadcasts.

Julian Bird, SOLT Chief Executive and Olivier Awards Executive Producer, said:

'Amid unprecedentedly difficult times for our theatre community, we look forward to providing audiences with a unique celebration of the last ten years of incredible, world-leading British theatre honoured at the Olivier Awards, in anticipation of a separate ceremony for this year's winners in the Autumn. We are hugely grateful to our longstanding headline sponsor Mastercard, for their support this year and over the past decade - alongside all our other partners, who we look forward to working with again soon.'

The theatre world has seen mass closures and cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic, with many companies, creatives and performers taking to online platforms to create new work, connect with fans and colleagues, and raise money to help those in the industry who are struggling.

Tomorrow (Thursday 26 March), Olivier Awards presenters and nominees will be participating in the NHS's nationwide 'Clap For Our Carers' online campaign, and on Friday 27 March, World Theatre Day, the Olivier Awards will join other theatre organisations and individuals sharing favourite theatre memories on social media.