How the Olivier Award winners are chosen

Each year, the Olivier Award winners are decided by a group of distinguished industry professionals, theatre luminaries and members of the public specifically chosen for their passion for London theatre.

How it works

Lively and intense debates are conducted by five panels – theatre, affiliates, opera, dance and family – each overseen by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT).

The professional panellists for our affiliate, dance and opera categories are chosen for their knowledge in their selected field and each panel is made up of various members including journalists, casting directors, arts administrators and publishers. The theatre panel is made up solely from members of the public with no professional theatre background. Each person is chosen by the Co-Chief Executives of SOLT following advice from the SOLT Awards Office and external advisors.

The process

Any new production that opens between 15 February 2025 and 17 February 2026 in a theatre represented by a SOLT member is eligible for consideration for the Olivier Awards 2026, provided it meets the minimum performance requirement for its category.

For Affiliate, Dance, Family and Opera, panellists select the productions they feel are most deserving of an Olivier Award, creating the nominations for each category, and then vote on a winner at the end of the judging period.

For the Theatre awards, the process takes place in two stages. First, the Theatre panel compiles a long list highlighting productions or individuals they believe merit particular attention. This long list is then shared with SOLT members for voting. Members may still vote beyond the long list at this stage, except in the four Supporting Actor/Actress categories, which each include thousands of eligible performers. The votes of SOLT members are then combined with those of the panellists to determine the final list of nominees.

In the second stage, the overall shortlist of nominees is voted on by both members and panellists to produce the winners.

And the winners are…

Although there is much speculation and gossip among fans, aficionados and stars of the stage, the winners in each category are a closely guarded secret. They are known only by those who strictly need to know to get everything ready for the night – a tiny number of the Olivier Awards team and the engraver of the statuettes – until they are announced at the Olivier Awards ceremony.

Be a judge

Each year, SOLT recruit members of the public to serve as Olivier Award panellists. Prospective panellists are asked to submit a show review and are then invited to interview at the Olivier Awards office.

If you are selected as a panellist, you can’t be expected to make decisions without doing your research. That’s why each successful candidate is given free tickets to eligible shows throughout the year. Not only that, as an official judge, you’ll also get to attend the ceremony and rub shoulders with the glitterati of the theatre world.