Neil Patrick Harris has been the host of the Oscars.
He also hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009 and 2013 , and hosted the 87th Academy Awards in 2015 , thus making him the first openly gay man to host the Academy Awards.
The Academy Awards , now known officially as the Oscars , is a set of twenty-four awards for artistic and technical merit in the American film industry , given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -LRB- AMPAS -RRB- , to recognize excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy 's voting membership.
During the ceremony , AMPAS presented Academy Awards -LRB- commonly referred to as Oscars -RRB- in 24 categories.
