West Hollywood: A global mix of British stars, Hispanic ingenues, hip-hop royalty, politicos and Oscar winners united under one language at this year's Academy Awards parties: glamour.

From Vanity Fair's celebrity-packed after-party to Elton John's annual Oscar viewing bash, the festivities were as diverse as they were glitzy.

Best supporting actress winner Jennifer Hudson, wearing a snug gold beaded gown, showed up to Vanity Fair's party at Morton's just before 1 am, thrusting her trophy for Dreamgirls into the air.

At the same time, best actor winner Forest Whitaker entered the bash and was trailed by a long line of fans and well-wishers.

Clutching his best director trophy for mob drama The Departed, long-overdue Oscar winner Martin Scorsese answered heaps of praises and hugs with a grin plastered across his face.

A few feet away, The Departed star and best actor nominee Leonardo DiCaprio wolfed down veggie egg rolls.

British actor Sacha Baron Cohen, sans his Borat natty threads and wearing a snazzy tux, joked with fellow Brit Orlando Bloom, and danced to Gnarls Barkley's hip-hop hit Crazy.

Victoria Beckham, in a slender, white gown, chatted up Jennifer Lopez and Lopez's husband, Marc Anthony. Even former supermodel rivals Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks laughed together, towering over everyone else in their dazzling dresses.

Al Gore, on hand to celebrate his documentary win for An Inconvenient Truth, was a party favourite and was seen with Prestige actor Hugh Jackman and others as he made the rounds.

Outside, drinking a beer, American Idol judge Simon Cowell waxed poetic on former finalist Hudson. "I feel like her foster parent," he said, beaming about the woman he once berated.

Saturday night's Vibe magazine pre-Oscar bash continued the party pack's diverse, fun-loving vibe. Hosted by one-time Oscar nominee Queen Latifah, the shindig at West Hollywood's Republic attracted a vibrant cross-section of the black community, who sipped vodka martinis and sweated to pounding hip-hop.