How to watch Oscars 2023 in the UK for free – stream live awards
IT’S red carpet time again: the 95th Academy Awards are just around the corner.
Unfortunately, the glitziest awards show of the year isn’t being aired on UK television – but we’ve figured out how you can still watch it live.
Read on to find out how to watch the Oscars 2023 for free in the UK.
From the nominations to the outfits to the strange appearances, the Academy Awards is rarely a dull event.
Now in its 95th year, the 2023 Oscars will air in the UK at 1am Monday 13 March GMT.
Okay, it’s hard to imagine that anything as sensational as Will Smith’s shock slapping of Chris Rock last year will happen this year – but this is Hollywood, after all, and anything is possible.
There’s already been a bitter row around Andrea Riseborough’s Best Actress nomination, along with surprise Best Picture nominations from blockbusters Avatar and Top Gun: Maverick.
Over in the U.S., this year’s Oscars awards ceremony will be available to stream live on the ABC website – but if you try and access it from the UK, you’ll find that it’s blocked.
However, we’ve figured out a workaround: you can watch the 95th Oscars in the UK by downloading a VPN.
How to watch the Oscars 2023 in the UK for free
By using a VPN, you can route your internet activity through a server that’s based in another country.
In doing this, you can essentially ‘suggest’ to streaming sites that you’re
- Download a VPN app such as or to your streaming device.
- Load the VPN, and select a U.S.-based server.
- Head to the streaming site .
- Search for the Oscars 2023, sit back with some popcorn, and enjoy!
It’s as simple as that – the only other suggestion we have is that you take the next day off work, since the ceremony will wrap up in the small hours of Monday morning.
Using a VPN to access geo-restricted content is completely legal, but if you want to watch any live UK TV while you’re abroad, you need to have a UK license.
We’ve put a number of major VPNs to the test – you can see how they compare in our pick of the best VPN services in 2023.
MORE VPNS
What date is the Academy Awards 2023?
The Oscars ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles at 8pm local time on Sunday 12 March.
However, if you’re planning on watching the Academy Awards from the UK, keep in mind the time difference.
Here, the awards ceremony will be kicking off at 1am on Monday 13 March.
How can I watch the 2023 Oscars?
If you’re based in the UK, the easiest way is by using a VPN as we lay out in the step-by-step instructions above.
We recommend heading to the ABC site, but it’s also available to streaming at Hulu, YouTubeTV and FuboTV.
Some of these are paid-for subscription services, but come with free trial periods.
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To find out more about the history of the Academy awards, head to our what are the Oscars explainers.