The 2026 Kennedy Center Honors will be held at Washington’s Capital One Arena rather than the riverfront Kennedy Center, which has become the focus of a legal dispute over President Donald Trump’s name being added to the building.
The 49th annual ceremony is scheduled for the downtown arena, a Kennedy Center spokesperson confirmed Friday. Few additional details were available, and the center did not explain why the event was moved.
The center’s board voted last month to close the iconic performing arts venue on the Potomac River waterfront after a federal judge barred the institution from restoring Trump’s name to the building.
Trump has said on social media that the center required safety repairs. However, he also said the work would proceed only if the board could advance plans to add his name to the facility.
A federal judge has rejected that position twice, ruling that the change cannot take place without congressional approval. Congress has allocated $257 million for repairs.
Trump hosted the 2025 honors, which recognized Sylvester Stallone, George Strait and other honorees. During the ceremony, he said he would rename the venue the “Trump Kennedy Center,” and workers began adding his name to the building soon afterward.
The center’s board of trustees, whose members were appointed by Trump, unanimously approved the change. The decision has faced legal challenges ever since.
Congress established the performing arts center as a living memorial to John F. Kennedy in 1964, one year after his assassination.
The law explicitly prevents the board of trustees from turning the center into a memorial for anyone else or placing another person’s name on the building’s exterior.
Established in 1978, the Kennedy Center Honors celebrate lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts. The 2026 honorees will be announced later, the spokesperson said. The ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 7.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
CONTINUE READING: Truth About Rumors of Model Presley Gerber’s Death Revealed