(Los Angeles) Beyoncé and Billie Eilish will perform Sunday evening at the Oscars ceremony but Van Morrison, notoriously opposed to the obligation to vaccinate against the coronavirus, will not be at the party where he was nevertheless invited, announced Tuesday organizers.
Posted at 9:14 p.m.
The three artists are in the running in the category of the best song for this 94and edition of the Oscars, alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda and Diane Warren whose works will also be performed during this ceremony.
Queen of Pop Beyoncé wrote the ballad be alive For the movie King Richarddedicated to the rise of tennis champions Serena and Venus Williams and in which actor Will Smith plays their coach father.
According to the specialist magazine variety, the star will perform her title live from the tennis courts of Compton, an underprivileged neighborhood in the suburbs of Los Angeles, where the Williams sisters made their debut. Asked by AFP to confirm the information, the organizers did not respond on Tuesday evening.
Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas will play on their side No Time To Dietube specially composed for the last James Bond.
Van Morrison, who wrote the song Down to Joy for Kenneth Branagh’s film Belfast, was also invited to perform during the Oscars, like his competitors. But “he won’t be able to attend the Oscars because of his concert dates,” organizers said.
The 76-year-old singer is performing in England at the end of March before arriving in the United States next month to continue his tour.
Van Morrison has in the past loudly criticized – and in music with three songs protesting against the confinement – the sanitary restrictions linked to the pandemic and has expressed his opposition to the obligation to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Positions which for some risked calling into question his participation in the Oscars evening.
The ceremony requires contestants, guests and journalists to be vaccinated, but performers and presenters would be allowed on stage without proof of vaccination provided they pass a rigorous series of tests.
Sebastian Yatra will be present to interpret Dos Oruguitassong taken from the latest Disney animated film Encantoa title composed by star Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Diane Warren’s Song Somehow You Do was written for the movie Four Good Days and will be performed by Reba McEntire. Diane Warren is an Oscar winner with 13 nominations to her credit but has never won the prestigious golden statuette.