Why has the 2023 Oscars abandoned the red carpet?

The 2023 Academy Awards has broken a tradition that has been around as long as the awards show itself — the long, red carpet celebrities walk along as they enter the theater.

The Oscars event, wherever the location, has always had a red carpet since it was first rolled out in 1961 at the 33rd annual ceremony. Though the hues of red have varied throughout the decades, it has always been distinctly red.

Though a red carpet is a nod to tradition, class, and the celebration of elite events in entertainment, the Academy has rolled out a champagne-colored carpet instead for the 2023 Oscars.

The 95th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will be held in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theater Sunday, March 12.

The unveiling of the champagne rug

On Wednesday, 2023 Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel himself supervised the unveiling of the champagne carpet outside the theater.

“Thanks everybody, for asking me to do this,” Kimmel said as he held a microphone and wore a suit as the new carpet was being rolled out. “I’m thrilled, I’m honored, I’m excited. Mostly about the carpet, I mean this carpet is so beautiful. It’s a remnant, we got it for a very good price.”

“People have been asking, ‘Is there going to be any trouble this year? Is there going to be any violence this year?’ And we certainly hope not,” the talk show host continued. “But if there is, I think the decision to go with a champagne carpet rather than a red carpet shows how confident we are that no blood will be shed.”

This will be the third time Kimmel hosts the prestigious awards ceremony, as the actor and talk show host hosted the 2018 and 2019 Oscars.

Why change the carpet from red to champagne?

The decision to abandon the red carpet in favor of a light-colored one came from creative consultants Lisa Love, a Vogue contributor, and Raúl Àvila, the New York Met Gala creative director.

The carpet will reportedly be covered to protect the celebrities and paparazzi’s camera equipment from the weather and to make it more versatile for photos of celebrities arriving in the daylight.

Apparently, a “covered” carpet can change that.

“We turned a day event into night,” Love said in an interview with the Associated Press. “It’s evening, even though it’s still 3:00.”

After trying different colors, they finally settled on the light beige.

“We chose this beautiful sienna, saffron color that evokes the sunset, because this is the sunset before the golden hour,” Love said.

When asked if there was any opposition, according to Love, there was no debate over the decision to change the carpet color, and they knew they had the freedom to break from tradition.

“Somebody’s always got a way to find something wrong with something,” Love said. “This is just a lightness and hopefully people like it. It doesn’t mean that it’s always going to be a champagne colored carpet.”