Oscars 2022 set to have several hosts, with ceremony taking place as a three-part act

Three celebrities are being lined up to host the 94th Academy Awards on March 27

In 2018, US comedian Jimmy Kimmel was the host of the Academy Awards, after also serving in the role in 2017. AFP

Jimmy Kimmel, right, at the 2017 Oscars, watches on while 'La La Land' producer Jordan Horowitz shows the card stating that 'Moonlight' won the Best Picture Award. AFP

Chris Rock hosted the Academy Awards in 2016, with an opening monologue criticising the lack of black acting nominees. AFP

In 2015, Oscars host Neil Patrick Harris did a musical performance along with Anna Kendrick. AFP

In 2014, the award ceremony's host Ellen DeGeneres clicked the star-studded selfie that went viral.

Seth MacFarlane opened the 2013 Oscars with a 19-minute monologue that was criticised by many as racist and sexist. AFP

The 2012 Oscars host Billy Crystal has emceed the event a total of nine times. AFP

James Franco and Anne Hathaway's hosting of the 2011 event was criticised as among the worst Oscar telecasts. AFP

In 2010, veteran actors Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin played hosts at the Oscars ceremony. AFP

The 2009 event was highly praised for host Hugh Jackman's opening musical performance. AP Photo

In January, the Oscars announced it was set to have a host for the first time in four years. And now, it has been revealed that it won’t have only one host, it will have several.

The ceremony will take place as a three-act show, according to The Hollywood Reporter, with three celebrities being lined up by organisers.

The multi-host strategy has been implemented in the hopes of attracting a broader audience to the ceremony, which will be broadcast live on ABC, after a dip in viewing figures in recent years.

In 2021, viewer numbers for the Oscars dipped by 51 per cent to 9.23 million from 18.6 million the previous year. However, the pandemic meant the 2021 ceremony was pared back in comparison to previous years.

It has not yet been announced which stars will take on hosting duties, but front runners include Jimmy Kimmel, Tiffany Haddish, Pete Davidson, and Tom Holland.

The Oscars have gone without a host since 2019, when comedian Kevin Hart, who was originally lined up to present the live ceremony, stepped down after a backlash on social media over homophobic tweets he had posted in the past, for which he later apologised.

The 94th Academy Awards will take place at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Sunday, March 27.

Netflix’s The Power of the Dog leads this year’s nominees, with 12 nods. Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi film Dune, which was partly shot in Abu Dhabi, is a close second with 10 nods, followed by West Side Story and Belfast, which picked up seven nominations each.