Kennedy Center Honors 2026 sets Dec. 7 date, new venue
The 49th Kennedy Center Honors gala will take place Dec. 7, 2026, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., not at the Kennedy Center itself, The Hollywood Reporter learned. The move follows a shutdown of the arts institution and a legal fight over President Donald Trump’s push to add his name to the building.
What organizers have confirmed about Kennedy Center Honors 2026
Every prior Kennedy Center Honors gala has been held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., but the 2026 edition will instead unfold at Capital One Arena, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the 2026 honorees and the program’s broadcast partner will be announced at a later date, Billboard reported.
Launched in 1978, the Kennedy Center Honors celebrates artists and performers whose work has shaped American culture. The Kennedy Center board voted to shut down the building, and Trump has suggested on social media that the closure would allow for future renovations, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
What it means for fans
The venue switch comes after a court blocked Trump’s name from being added to the Kennedy Center’s exterior, a decision he has criticized twice, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The fight over renaming the building to The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts has drawn criticism from members of the Kennedy family and prompted several artists to pull out of planned Kennedy Center performances, per The Hollywood Reporter.
There is no word yet on whether Trump will host the 2026 ceremony again. Last year marked the first time a sitting president personally selected the honorees, with Trump saying at an Aug. 13, 2025, press conference he was “about 98% involved” in picking them and that he personally “turned down plenty” of candidates for being “too woke,” according to Billboard.
Background
The 2025 Kennedy Center Honors went to country star George Strait, rock band KISS, Broadway performer Michael Crawford, singer Gloria Gaynor and actor Sylvester Stallone, Billboard reported. That ceremony aired on CBS and Paramount+ and drew an all-time-low rating, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It was taped 11 days before the Kennedy Center’s name was briefly changed, and the CBS broadcast aired with a voiceover calling it “the Trump Kennedy Center Honors,” per Billboard.
Trump’s history with the gala stretches back to his first term, when he and first lady Melania Trump skipped the 2017, 2018 and 2019 ceremonies, making him the only president to never attend the event during an entire term, Billboard reported. Tensions escalated further on Sept. 16, when Trump was photographed on Air Force One viewing a poster that appeared to read “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED,” hours after he mused publicly that the building could be “ripped down.” That photo became evidence in a federal lawsuit, and a judge has ordered the Trump administration to give 30 days’ notice before any demolition steps, according to Billboard.
What’s next
The Kennedy Center has not yet announced the 2026 honorees or which network will broadcast the Dec. 7 ceremony from Capital One Arena. Both details are expected at a later date, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Reporting from Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter contributed to this story.