82nd Academy Awards And The Oscars

• The 25th Independent Spirit Awards (in 2010), usually held in Santa Monica the Saturday before the Oscars, marked the first time it was moved to a Friday and a change of venue to L.A. Live, the newly built entertainment complex developed in Downtown Los Angeles.
• The 8th annual "Night Before", traditionally held at the Beverly Hills Hotel (eight years running in 2010) and generally known as THE party of the season, benefits the Motion Picture and Television Fund, which operates a retirement home for SAG actors in the San Fernando Valley.
• Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Award Party airs the awards live at the nearby Pacific Design Center.
• The Governors' Ball is the Academy's official after-party, including dinner (until 2011), and is held adjacent to the awards-presentation venue. In 2012, the three course meal was replaced by appetizers.