Hollywood is counting down the hours until the winners of this year's Oscars are announced. The ballots are closed and the six thousand votes are now being counted at a top secret location ahead of cinema's biggest night on Sunday. The final touches are being made at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre, from the seating arrangements to the ballroom where renowned chef Wolfgang Puck will serve up a host of culinary delights for the star-studded invitees.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe 500 foot red carpet has been rolled out
First to walk the red carpet on Sunday will be security guards carrying the sealed envelopes containing the winners' names. The cards themselves have been specially created by head of design Marc Friedland, who has developed a trick to ensure that things run smoothly on the night. "The board is very thick," he said. "It has the category name on the back and then you put wax at the edges so that it can be taken out easily and no one will open it clumsily."
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Oscar statues have been polished off and put into place
Stars of the silver screen will then descend upon the 500 foot carpet from the nominees and their guests to the high-profile presenters. Handing out awards this year are some of 2014's winners including Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett, Jared Leto and Lupita Nyong'o. Reese Witherspoon, Felicity Jones, Benedict Cumberbatch and Meryl Streep will all also present awards on Sunday night.
© Photo: Getty ImagesMatthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett, Jared Leto and Lupita Nyong'o will be presenting awards
As the week has progressed, teams of staff have been spotted at the LA venue, making sure everything looks picture-perfect. Workers were seen been putting the larger-than-life Oscars statuettes into place along the red carpet and giving them a final spray of gold paint. The Academy itself has also been giving a glimpse inside their final preparations on Instagram, including a snapshot from high above the red carpet on Hollywood Boulevard.
© Photo: Getty ImagesHollywood's finest will be out in force on Sunday night
HELLO! Online will be providing a live blog of Oscars coverage throughout the night. Follow @hellomag on Twitter and @hellomaguk for the latest news.
