Airing on Feb. 24, the 91st Academy Awards made history as the first awards ceremony in 30 years not to have an official host. While many worried that this would make for a disastrous night, the evening turned out to be a refreshing, progressive, fun-filled event without the extra commentary.

This year’s Oscars opened with a mash-up of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions” performed by Queen and Adam Lambert, riling up the audience and creating excitement for the night to begin.  

Although the Academy did not have a planned host for the night due to Kevin Hart stepping back due to controversy, many actors, including Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, and Amy Poehler, willingly stepped in to fulfill the important role of announcing winners and entertaining the audience, doing a great job of continuing on despite their lack of time and preparation.

The night also featured many groundbreaking moments, such as when Rami Malek and Olivia Colman won ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Actress’ and sweet serenades, too, including a live performance of “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper after it won Best Song from the movie “A Star Is Born”.

Actor Rami Malek made history as he accepted his Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in the ‘Best Picture’ nominee “Bohemian Rhapsody”, making him the first actor of Egyptian heritage to win the award. For the first time ever three out of the four major award categories were won by people of color. The night was truly a night of progress. The increased inclusion and representation is likely what caused the amount of viewers to increase by 12% in comparison with other years.

Later, comedians Awkwafina, John Mulaney and Trevor Noah appeared with a sense of panic about technical aspects of the show, getting some great praise and laughs before announcing the Best Short Film as “Skin” by Jaime Ray Newman and Guy Nattiv. Trevor Noah was particularly funny, as he spoke a phrase in Xhosa, joking with non-speakers about what it meant.

Nominees for Best Picture included “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Black Panther”, “Green Book”, “A Star Is Born”, “Vice”, “Roma”, “The Favourite”, and “BlacKkKlansman”,

Fan-favorite “Bohemian Rhapsody” took home four Oscars in total, and top-grossing “Black Panther” was awarded three for its well-crafted costume design, production design, and ‘Best Original Score’. “Roma” was also awarded three well-deserved Oscars for ‘Best Foreign Language Film’, ‘Best Cinematography’, and ‘Best Director’ Alfonso Cuarón.

Although some were disappointed that “Green Book” took home the award for Best Picture, the pool of ‘Best Picture’ nominees this year was tough competition; each of the highly-rated movies portray important messages about  society today while featuring amazing plotlines.

The awards show as a whole was another great show for the Academy. In addition to its emphasis on the renowned pieces and artistry, this show truly stands out for its innovated format and increased diversity within awards, which has been a long time coming. I give the Oscars this year an 8/10.