They will also receive extensive coverage on BBC News on TV, radio and online. The ceremony will include a theatrical entertainment created specially for the 2011 Oliviers, backed by the BBC Concert Orchestra performing live onstage. The public is being invited to vote on an award – the Radio 2 Audience Award for the Most Popular Show, for which voting will open in early 2011. The full nominations for all the awards will be announced in early February.

In a press statement, Nica Burns, President of the Society of London Theatres, who manage the awards, said, "We are thrilled that the Oliviers are back in such a beautiful and historic theatre, which is symbolic of the central part that theatre has played in the life of the capital since Shakespeare's day. When all seems doom and gloom, London’s theatre goes from strength to strength. I am delighted that the BBC is giving the Awards the major coverage they truly deserve. British theatre is the envy of the world and we expect the 2011 Awards to be a triumph!"

For further details, visit www.olivierawards.co.uk.