BAFTA has changed the date of its film awards next year to avoid a clash with The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' annual nominees' lunch, held in Los Angeles.

The BAFTAs were originally set to take place on Sunday February 8 next year, but with the nominees' lunch scheduled for the following day, the awards will now take place on Sunday 15th February 2004.

"The Oscars' nominees' lunch is an enjoyable and traditionally well attended occasion, and the close proximity of the two events would have resulted in those nominated by both The British Academy and The American Academy having to choose between the two," Duncan Kenworthy, chair of The British Academy's film committee said in a statement.

"We feel that to put nominees in this situation would quite simply be unfair. We hope that this date change will make it more likely that every BAFTA nominee will attend our awards ceremony."

Since moving to a pre-Oscars slot in 2001, the BAFTA awards have grown in international stature, attracting a wealth of stars from the awards circuit.

Attendees at this year's awards included Daniel Day Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Michael Caine and Ian McKellen.