Hollywood has the Academy Awards, the star-studded annual glitzy gala that is broadcast to millions of people around the world. Washington has the White House Correspondents Dinner, the glamorous yearly event that is shown on C-Span. And while we admit the WHCD has a long way to go before reaching Oscar-level status, D.C.’s top event of the year still is pretty impressive.
We put the two parties head-to-head to decide which is the better soiree.
A-list Crowd
The Academy Awards always draws top Hollywood stars, from stalwarts like Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks to tabloid draws like Brangelina. The WHCD also brings A-listers (Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were on hand in 2009, for example) as well as the biggest celebrity in the world: President Obama.
Edge: WHCD (as long as Obama is in office, that is).
Venue
While the Academy Awards has been held in venues around Los Angeles, it got a permanent home in 2002 at the new, flashy Kodak Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. The WHCD is traditionally held at historic (yet drab) Washington Hilton.
Edge: Oscars.
Entertainment
Typically, the Oscars ceremony lingers on… and on… and the hosts are hit-or-miss. It’s pretty much the same for the WHCD, but hey, at least the dinner isn’t as long. Plus, attendees can drink throughout the evening.
Edge: WHCD.
Fashion
There is perhaps no bigger event to dish on what the stars are wearing than the Oscars (the E! channel gets enough programming from it, that’s for sure). Fashion at the WHCD, however, tends to be on the conservative (read: boring) side.
Edge: Oscars.
After-Parties
Vanity Fair’s annual Oscar post-party is widely considered the No. 1 fiesta of the evening, but it’s not the only A-list after-event: Elton John also hosts a party to raise money for his AIDS charity, and Madonna and Demi Moore have held their own parties in recent years. While Vanity Fair traditionally hosts a WHCD after-party, it can’t match the Oscar event — and the other post-WHCD soirees aren’t particularly A-list, either.
Edge: Oscars.
Winner: Oscars… but the WHCD is earning more cool points each year.
