Excitement reached an all-time high in London as the city geared up for the 68th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs. Final preparations were being made on Sunday afternoon as the sun set over the Royal Opera House – the regular venue for the annual ceremony.
Staff got to work as they hauled up flags bearing cine event's iconic golden mask, and then rolled out the red carpet that would be walked by the cine stars and Amanda Berry OBE, chief executive of the academy.
Over the past week famous faces from around the world, including nominees Eddie Redmayne and Reese Witherspoon, have been flying into the English capital and in a few hours the stars will make their much-awaited arrival on the red carpet.
© Photo: TwitterThe red carpet was rolled out for the BAFTAs on Sunday afternoon
Stephen Fry, who is hosting the ceremony for the tenth time this year, gave an insight into how preparations were going for the televised awards. Taking to Instagram from inside the venue, Stephen posted behind-the-scenes snaps of the empty auditorium.
"Stars on sticks. @BAFTA #EEBAFTAs," he captioned one photo of the seating plan, followed by another of a table showing the order of ceremony. He wrote alongside it: "The table of destiny... Yet to be covered with envelopes and @BAFTA masks. #EEBAFTAs."
© Photo: InstagramStephen Fry, who is hosting for the tenth year, has his hair done before the BAFTAs
While Stephen also uploaded a selfie from his dressing room – joking that his hairdresser was "trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" – other stars showed how they were getting ready on Twitter and Instagram.
Mark Ruffalo, who has been nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in Foxcatcher, shared a comical snap of himself going about his daily routine. "Getting @BAFTA ready. Brushing teeth is an important part of one's proper #EEBAFTAs hygiene program.…," he captioned it.
© Photo: InstagramThe BAFTAs auditorium was prepared with the stars' seating plan
On Saturday night a host of nominees celebrated the imminent awards ceremony by attending a pre-party at Kensington Palace. As well as Eddie and Reese, Amy Adams, Felicity Jones and Keira Knightley were all on the star-studded guest list.
In a letter written for this year's ceremony, Prince William congratulated all the talent, writing: "All of tonight's nominees have shown that they are the very best of what they do – making us laugh or cry; thrilling or captivating us; even educating or challenging our beliefs. All have made an exceptional contribution to film this year, and, although the Awards are very much an international affair, it is always heartening to see so much British talent represented in the auditorium."
