News The 2018 Oscars Stage Is Adorned with 45 Million Swarovski Crystals—See It Here By Jonathan Borge Jonathan Borge Instagram Twitter Jonathan Borge is a writer and editor living in New York City. His writing has appeared in Glamour, Refinery29, Forbes, and PAPER, among other publications. Plus, he's held staff positions at Marie Claire, InStyle, and OprahDaily.com. Currently, he's the Senior Entertainment Editor at Bustle Digital Group's Elite Daily, where he oversees digital covers, features and profiles, freelance essays, and strategy for the site's TV/Movies and Celebrity and Music sub-verticals.He primarily writes about pop culture and style, and has a passion for telling LGBTQ+ and Latinx stories. When he's not working, he's likely waiting for Lady Gaga to announce her next tour. InStyle's editorial guidelines Updated on February 27, 2018 @ 09:00AM Pin Share Tweet Email The cameras may focus on what celebrities are wearing on the red carpet at the Oscars, but inside the show, someone’s responsible for making the venue itself look like a million bucks. Enter Derek McLane, the set designer that’s been tapped to transform Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre into a dreamy movie set for all the nominated stars, their guests, and host Jimmy Kimmel. For the sixth year in a row, organizers of the Academy Awards tapped McLane to make this magic happen with the help of Swarovski, the brand that has lit up the Oscars stage for the past 11 years. Curious to see what all 45 million crystals used look like together? Check out this exclusive rendering below. Courtesy of Swarvoski McLane placed a lot of emphasis on the new proscenium—the upper, arched structure surrounding the stage—that indeed features more than 45 million crystals mixed in with octagonal tiles, metal, and mirrored materials. 32 people were needed to bring this piece to life, which weighs 15,500 pounds and took over 3,250 hours to complete. Together, the crystals of the structure cover roughly 1,750-square-feet of space, which is epic. RELATED VIDEO: Right Now: Academy Awards Red Carpet Rolled Out - Hollywood Boulevard “I started the design for this year’s Oscars with a bold new proscenium, inspired by an image I had seen of fragmented mirror. The shapes felt almost natural, like the inside of a geode. That became the kicking off point for a whole bunch of other elements, all playing with reflectivity and sources of light. There are elements that are very modern and others that suggest Hollywood regency. But their reflectivity is what ties them together,” McLane tells InStyle of the inspiration. How to Watch the 2018 Oscars Online In addition, he also worked with Swarovski to dress the stage with curtains that feature over 80,000 crystals, opera boxes that’ll have over 23,000 stones, and floating Oscars that have over 140,000 crystals (below). That’s a lot of bling. Courtesy of Swarovski What’s cool about this whole thing is that Swarovski has helped deliver Hollywood magic for years. Their crystals made a film debut in Blonde Venus featuring Marlene Dietrich, and have since been included in Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Catch the 2018 Oscars on Sunday, March 4, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.