The Kennedy Center, which has been fenced off and closed to the public, is seen through a hole in a covered fence, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) The Kennedy Center, which has been … more >

This year’s Kennedy Center Honors won’t be at the Kennedy Center

by · The Washington Times

This year’s Kennedy Center Honors won’t be held at the Kennedy Center.

The 49th annual awards will take place Dec. 7 at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, a Kennedy Center spokesperson said Friday. No explanation was given for the change.

The move comes amid a legal fight over adding President Donald Trump’s name to the riverfront building. The board voted last month to close the venue after a federal judge blocked it from returning Mr. Trump’s name to the building.

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Mr. Trump has said in social media posts that the center must close for safety repairs, but that the repairs would happen only if the board is allowed to add his name. A federal judge has twice said that can’t happen without congressional approval. Congress has allocated $257 million for repairs.

Mr. Trump hosted the 2025 awards, whose honorees included Sylvester Stallone and George Strait. He said then that he would rename the facility the “Trump Kennedy Center,” and workers soon began adding his name. The board of trustees, named by Mr. Trump, voted unanimously for the change, which has been challenged in court since.

Congress named the center a living memorial to John F. Kennedy in 1964, the year after he was assassinated. The law bars the board from making it a memorial to anyone else or putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior.

The 2026 honorees will be named later, the spokesperson said.

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• Kennedy Center Honors to be held at Capital One Arena amid fight over adding Trump’s name

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