The British Academy’s 2021 film awards, which were postponed earlier this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, have been pushed to just ahead of the Academy Awards next year.
On Monday, BAFTA said next year’s British Academy Film Awards will be held on Sunday, April 11, 2021, allowing the U.K. awards show to remain among the last of the Oscar precursors. The change from the earlier announced date of Feb. 14 allows for an extended eligibility period.
Further details on the ceremony will be announced later in the year by the British Academy. “The date for the 2022 Film Awards, announced last year as 13 February, is currently under consideration as part of the awards review (set up following this year’s film nominations), and any changes will be published once the review has been completed, alongside other findings and recommendations,” the British Academy added in a statement.
The BAFTA Film Awards being postponed follows the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony being delayed from Feb. 28 to April 25, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and its Oscars broadcasting partner ABC said on Monday.
In turn, the Oscars eligibility period for feature films — which began on Jan. 1, 2020, and was set to expire at the end of Dec. 31, 2020 — has been extended to Feb. 28, 2021.
