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2019 Oscars will not have an official host, ABC executive confirms

The telecast has gone without an emcee only once — 30 years ago.
An Oscar statue at the 91st Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 4, 2019.
An Oscar statue at the 91st Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 4, 2019.Danny Moloshok / Invision/AP

LOS ANGELES — The Oscars ceremony will not have an official host this year, the president of ABC Entertainment, which broadcasts the ceremony, said on Tuesday.

ABC's Karey Burke told television reporters that the Feb 24. ceremony would highlight the celebrities who present the awards and that there were also plans for "a pretty exciting opening" to the telecast.

The comedian Kevin Hart in December stepped down from hosting the Oscars after past homophobic tweets resurfaced.

The telecast has gone without an emcee only once, 30 years ago. That ceremony kicked off with an 11-minute musical number featuring a duet between Rob Lowe and an actress playing Snow White.

This year's pack of nominees is led by the Spanish-language drama "Roma" and the royalty farce "The Favourite," with 10 nods apiece.