How to watch the Oscars in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
The star-studded ceremony includes performances from Billie Eilish, Becky G and Ryan Gosling.
Whether you love the gowns, guests or gongs, there is no award ceremony quite like the Academy Awards. The 96th Academy Awards takes place on Sunday, 10 March in Los Angeles and will be hosted by the comedian Jimmy Kimmel. If you want to watch the Oscars in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, here’s how to get your streaming on.
Even though you’re more than 8,000 miles away, we’re here to help you join the action. The Academy Awards airs in more than 200 countries and audiences in the Middle East can tune in to MBC 2, MBC Max, and Shahid Plus to stream the Oscars 2024 live. The ceremony will be held on 10 March in the US, translating to 4am on 11 March for viewers in the UAE and 3am in the KSA. Yes, that’s Monday morning.
The 95th Academy Awards favourites include Oppenheimer with 13 nominations, closely followed by Poor Things with 11 nods. Killers of the Flower Moon is in the running with ten nominations, while Barbie has earned eight and American Fiction comes in with five. Performers include Billie Eilish, Becky G and Ryan Gosling, who will perform alongside Mark Ronson.
Vanessa Hudgens is set to dazzle once again as the host of The Oscars Red Carpet Show alongside co-host Julianne Hough. And when it comes to the main event, Jimmy Kimmel will be gracing the stage, making this his second consecutive year as the host.
For almost a century, the Oscars have celebrated the creme de la creme of cinematic talent. From dramas to action flicks, the Academy Awards honour the best and brightest in showbiz. With nail-biting moments and tear-jerking speeches, the award show is a rollercoaster of emotions for viewers worldwide.
Arabs at the Academy Awards
Over the years, Arab cinema has been recognised at the Academy Awards. No gongs for guessing the first Arab actor to be nominated for an Oscar. In 1963, Egyptian actor Omar Sharif was shortlisted for Best Supporting Actor in his role in Lawrence of Arabia. It then took until 2019 for an Arab to win an Oscar: American Egyptian actor Rami Malek won the Best Actor award for Bohemian Rhapsody.
In 2014, Saudi Arabia made history when it submitted its first film to the Academy, and gained a nomination for Wadjda. Plus, in 2019, Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki was the first Arab female film director to be nominated for an Oscar.
Set the alarms.
GO: Visit www.oscars.org for more information.
