The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional London theatre. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Awards, but they were renamed in honour of the English actor of the same name in 1984.
The awards are given annually to individuals involved in West End productions and other leading non-commercial theatres based in London across a range of categories covering plays, musicals, dance, opera and affiliate theatre. A discretionary non-competitive Special Olivier Award is also given each year. The Olivier Awards are recognised internationally as the highest honour in British theatre, equivalent to the BAFTA Awards for film and television, and the BRIT Awards for music. The Olivier Awards are considered equivalent to Broadway's Tony Awards, France's Molière Award, Spain's Premios Max, Australia's Helpmann Awards and Russia's Golden Mask.